The Hufflepuff Alternative
by Mionefan
Summary: A darker end to the Battle of Hogwarts. Replacement for part of chapter 7 and the Epilogue.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling I'm just playing in her sand box and make no money from this.

Rating is mature for language, violence and subject matter.

Genera: Drama, Romance.

Characters: Harry Potter, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass

A/N: First chapter is getting all the nasty stuff out of the way. This story is completely AU and the timeline does not follow canon. This story has changed from originally envisioned from chapter 10 on.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Last One Standing<strong>

Spell fire, deadly and bright ricocheted off the walls of the stone castle. Hogwarts, under attack from Voldemort and his Death Eaters, rang with screams and curses. Many had fallen on both sides: teachers, students, Aurors, Death Eaters and finally Voldemort himself. The Dark Lord had fallen when Harry Potter had finally found a way to defeat him.

Harry glared at the still form before him. He had used a simple but powerful banishing charm to defeat the darkest wizard in almost a century. The charm had acted on the evil wizard by depriving him of his magical core. Harry wasn't quite sure how that had happened, but the resultant blast of light and energy had destroyed the school staircase that Riddle had been standing on. They had fought for what seemed like hours, but in reality was a much shorter time. Cracks in the stonework of Hogwarts told the story of the fierceness of the battle. Scars in the Great Hall and collapsed columns throughout the first two floors told of the deadly battle. Harry had forged ahead, driving Voldemort back initially, chasing him up and down staircases, until Tom had started to gather his power. Harry had strategically dodged several killing curses, banishing broken doors and stonework in the way of the deadly spells.

He had finally caught Tom unexpectedly from behind with a tripping jinx and while the dark wizard turned, stumbling, Harry threw all his power behind a spell Hermione had invented; a modified banishing charm. The look of surprise as Voldemort fell, did little to take away the pain Harry felt as he'd watched so many of his friends die. Satisfaction mingled with grief and anger, with anger being the most visible emotion at the moment, clouded the face of The-Boy-Who-Lived, now The-Boy-Who-Won.

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><p>Harry blinked, unable to see, rubbing his eyes from the after-effects of the blast. His eyebrows and hair had been singed, his robes were in tatters and he swayed drunkenly on his feet before collapsing in exhaustion at the top of the third floor staircase.<p>

All was suddenly quiet in the castle, as if a silencing charm had been cast. If one were to look around, horror would be the immediate reaction to the observer. Dead and dying were everywhere. All of the Dark Lord's followers were dead. The rest of the participants in the deadly battle were either dead or severely injured and unconscious, the result of the collapse of Voldemort's magical core. Nothing moved; even the house elves were gone. Hogwarts was like a tomb with the occupants un-stirring inside.

Outside, a cold November wind blew, stirring the dry leaves of the few remaining standing trees. The devastation reached everywhere on the grounds. Deep scars in the stones of the castle bore mute evidence of the fierceness of the battle. Dead were everywhere, blood pooling around countless bodies, Death Eater and student alike. Hagrid's hut had burned to the ground with Hagrid and Fang trapped inside. The Quidditch field was unrecognizable; deep scars in the pitch and the stands had collapsed. More dead lay here, their bodies awkwardly twisted and broken; students, teachers, Death Eaters, giants and vampires lay helter skelter across the pitch. The stench of death was everywhere. Strangely, a bright and sunny day with a watery blue sky greeted a lone survivor that limped tiredly toward Hogwart's main entrance. The blonde girl, for that was what she was, despite the matted hair, caked dirt and torn robes that hid her appearance, struggled to remain upright as she worked her way into the school. She staggered with a pronounced limp as blood oozed from multiple cuts on her body. Her wand was held loosely, her slim fingers just able to grip the wood. _'So much destruction!'_ she thought.

"Hello," she called weakly. "Anyone?"

A moan from somewhere was the only answer she received. She stopped to rest, her blue eyes taking in the destruction and she abruptly bent over and vomited as she saw all the bodies lying haphazardly throughout the Great Hall. Raising her wand and muttering a cleaning spell to get the worst of the sick from her robes, she carefully staggered further into the building. A fine mist of dust fell from the ceiling causing her to cough. Her throat felt raw and the coppery taste of blood bore evidence to one of the injuries she had received. Blood seeped from her nose and she cast a quick healing spell. The rest of her injuries would have to wait.

"Hello? Anyone here?" she called again.

A weak mumble answered her from somewhere to her left. Locating the source of the moan, the girl gasped as she recognised her best friend. "Susan!" she sobbed. "Can you move?"

"Hannah," Susan Bones replied weakly. "You're alive. Thank Merlin!"

Another moan, this time closer, prompted the pair to gaze at a boy the same age, struggling dazedly to stand.

"Neville!" Susan choked. She was never so glad to see anyone as she reached for her boyfriend's arm. "You're alive." She grasped his hand and he helped her stand. The trio stood looking at each other, awed that they had survived the final battle.

"Help," a weak call was heard from the distance. "Over here, by the door."

Hannah was the first to spot the figure, lying by the teacher's entrance. "Headmistress McGonagall!" Stumbling through the wreckage she finally reached the stricken professor.

"Ah, Miss Abbott. So, we've won?" she asked, coughing weakly.

"I-I think so," Hannah answered. I don't know who survived though. Susan Bones and Neville Longbottom at least."

Minerva was trapped under the heavy oak staff table and couldn't move. Susan and Neville joined Hannah and between them, they managed to levitate the table enough so that Minerva could crawl out from under one of the table's legs. She winced as a sharp pain shot through her leg.

"Are you alright? It looks like you've broken something. Your leg?"

Minerva nodded as Hannah cast an immobilizing spell on the leg. "Thank you. I hope Madam Pomfrey survived; we could use her skills right now."

With Minerva and Hannah limping and Neville and Susan helping, they began to search for other survivors. Four Ravenclaws, including Anthony Goldstein, Luna Lovegood, Su Li and Padma Patil, as well as Hufflepuffs Megan Jones, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Ernie Macmillan and Zacharias Smith. Gryffindors Hermione Granger, Seamus Finnegan and Dennis Creevey. Slytherins Daphne and Astoria Greengrass and Blaise Zabini rounded out the students. The teachers that survived were few. Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout were found, albeit with serious injuries. The hospital wing remained relatively untouched and Madam Pomfrey had managed to escape harm. After she had healed the most seriously injured, the survivors resumed the search for their comrades.

Hannah finally found Harry unconscious at the top of the third floor staircase. "Oh Harry, please don't be dead, we need you, I need you!" Hannah felt his neck and found a weak pulse. Carefully levitating him, Hannah made her way to the hospital wing.

"I've found Harry, he's alive!" she exclaimed, bursting through the doors of the ward.

"Set him down in this bed, Miss Abbott," Poppy directed.

Hannah eased him down, careful not to injure him further.

Madam Pomfrey carefully scanned him with her wand, casting diagnostic spells and reading the results. "Hmm. Apart from a concussion and minor cuts and burns, he seems to be fine. His magical core is almost exhausted, but he should be fully recovered in a few days."

"Thank Merlin," Minerva exhaled. "Did you see any sign of Voldemort?"

"No, Harry was at the top of a collapsed staircase and I couldn't see much else. The dust was really thick in the air."

The hospital ward held only three people now: Harry, Dennis Creevey and Padma Patil. A few minutes later Hermione entered, levitating Madam Pince. "I found her under a fallen shelf of books in the restricted section of the library."

…..


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling I'm just playing in her sand box and make no money from this.

Rating is mature for language, violence and mature sublects.

Genera: Drama, Romance.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Recovery<strong>

As the days passed, help had arrived from the Ministry and the cleanup began. Hannah had stayed, helping Madam Pomfrey care for the injured. Hannah had worked tirelessly, fetching potions, helping to set bones and carrying out odd jobs that nobody else had spare time to do.

Her best friend Susan had recovered, along with Susan's boyfriend Neville. Hermione, after checking on her best friend Harry, had departed to check on her parents.

Harry, however, was still resting. His magical core was slowly recharging and he was ravenously hungry. The potions had healed most of the damage to his body, but he couldn't seem to get enough to eat. Ron Weasley would have been proud. Apparently magical cores depended on food to rebuild from exhaustion and Harry had proved that with a vengeance. Ron Weasley along with his sister Ginny was found lying under the pile of rubble that resulted from the staircase collapse, both crushed, along with Parvati Patil. When Harry learned of that, he'd wept openly. Hannah, seeing the distraught hero, sought to comfort him and spent several days watching over him. He'd not noticed who it was without his glasses, but welcomed the relief it brought. He slept most of the time.

Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, along with Blaise Zabina stayed to brew potions for Madam Pomfrey. The four Ravenclaws pitched in, with Luna and Padma cleaning the infirmary and helping to organize the potions that had survived the battle. An evil green smoke from several accidentally broken potion vials that had mixed, arose in one of the storeroom cupboards. Anthony had gotten a whiff and was now unconscious on the floor. Su Li had dragged him away but the damage was done. Anthony Goldstein died without regaining consciousness a few days later, despite Madam Pomfrey's best efforts.

A great sadness enveloped magical Britain as the loss of so many students and staff became known. Of the almost three hundred residents of Hogwarts, less than two dozen had survived. True, the Death Eaters had fared worse, with no survivors, but the loss of the majority of the students had dealt a severe blow. It was true that some students had chosen not to return, mostly muggleborn and there was some resentment among the purebloods that they should be the ones to survive. None of the house elves had survived and replacement of them would be difficult.

Harry had lost everything: Ron, Ginny, in fact all the Weasley family, Remus, Tonks, his trunk with the Cloak of Invisibility, his parents pictures and the album and earlier that year, Dobby, and Hedwig. Winkey and Kreature had also perished. In fact, only his best friend Hermione remained and even she had left.

Funerals continued for weeks and still all the dead had not been accounted for. Missing were most of Slytherin house and the thought was that they had abandoned Hogwarts to join Voldemort's forces. Accounting for the dead Death Eaters was just starting, since they were widely scattered. Not all of them had died at Hogwarts; evidently they had been tied closely to the dark lord and he had drawn on their magic and life force in the final battle. All had died a most horrible death, their life force drained, slowly at first and then in a massive surge that choked the very life out of them.

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><p>It was decided that Hogwarts would close for a year to facilitate rebuilding the severely damaged school. Students would be scattered to other magical schools until Hogwarts reopened. Most would go to Ireland, but a few would go to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.<p>

The survivors of the final battle stuck together, deciding to finish their final year when Hogwarts reopened. There would be home study, of course and an extended period to relax and recuperate. That Hannah and Harry happened to settle near Tywyn, a Muggle town on the west coast of Wales was a coincidence. Harry had a nice manor house just north of the town, inherited from his parents and Hannah lived a mile further down the shore in a small cottage inherited from her parents.

By happenstance, both were shopping for food in the local greengrocer on a windy early spring day. Harry spotted her first and did a double take.

"Hannah Abbott?" he called.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" She blushed prettily at seeing him here of all places.

"I live here now. I have a place just up the coast. Why are you here?"

Recovering, she replied, "I live just down the coast in a cottage my parents left me. I-I I'm glad to see you Harry. H-how long… erm, that is, when did you move here?"

"Oh, right after the war. I've been a bit of a recluse; I suppose that's why we haven't run into each other before now. How are you? Do you have time for a spot of coffee?"

"What a great idea. there's a nice place just off the beach. I'm fine, by the way. It's a little lonely here by myself."

"You aren't with Neville? I thought you and he were… you know… a couple."

"No, Harry, Neville's with Susan. I thought you knew that," she giggled.

"No, I haven't seen anyone since Madam Pomfrey released me." In truth, Harry had avoided all contact with the magical world, trying to forget all the death and destruction of the final year of school. He was just coming to grip with the loss of good people he knew. Friends and acquaintances that didn't make it from the final showdown.

The pair walked the short distance to a small cafe and ordered coffee. Hannah liked hers with lots of cream and a bit of sugar. Harry preferred his black and strong. As they settled down, an easy camaraderie formed between them and a simple cup of coffee turned into a long conversation with a light meal. It was nearing dusk as they bade farewell, promising to meet again in a week. Harry was still wary of magical people, but Hannah's warm smile and easy banter had cracked the reserve he'd built up these past six months.

Hannah was delighted she'd finally have someone to talk to. It had taken almost two months to heal the wounds from the war, despite Madam Pomfrey's best efforts. Hannah still felt a stiffness in her right leg from a piece of jagged wood from the Quidditch stands that had torn through flesh and muscle.

Smiling to herself, she hurried back to the cottage, full of hope that Harry might at last see her as more than a friend.

Harry settled in to a comfortable chair before the fireplace. It was still cool for late April and the damp coastal climate was slow to change from the wet winter the town had experienced. Harry's manor was protected from the worst of the winter gales and storms, but Wales was not the warmest place on the planet. Sometimes he felt like moving to a tropical paradise, much has Sirius had done while on the run. He knew he wouldn't though; he was too used to the British weather. In fact, Scotland had been more to his liking and he'd considered moving to Aberdeen, but discarded the idea, disliking the crowds. London was even worse. No, Tywyn was just the right size and if he thought about it now, Hannah was here. And she apparently was still single. He smiled at that. After the first couple of years when she'd avoided him, initially thinking him the heir of Slytherin, and then at the Tri-Wizard Tournament, supporting her housemate Cedric Diggory. She'd finally shyly joined the DA and fought well in the final battle. She had even levitated him back to the hospital wing when he'd fallen unconscious. Yes, this was an interesting quirk of fate.

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	3. Chapter 3

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling I'm just playing in her sand box and make no money from this.

Rating is mature for language, violence and mature subjects.

Genera: Drama, Romance.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: A Summer Night To Remember<strong>

The weeks flew by and Harry and Hannah met often at the cafe they had first stopped in for coffee. Nothing serious, but both enjoyed the company.

A month later, the weather had warmed and they took to strolling along the beach, watching the waves and the sea birds soaring on thermals. Off to the east, the snow was fast disappearing from the mountains and the couple were considering a short hike for exercise. The locals warned them that the weather could change suddenly and not to go out unprepared. Many people had died in the mountains each year being unprepared.

Harry had visited Hannah's cottage for dinner one evening and quite enjoyed it. They had watched a BBC movie on the local channel, sitting comfortably close to one another, Hannah leaning on Harry's shoulder.

Harry had invited Hannah to his place and Hannah was astounded by the size of the manor. Harry had shrugged and confessed that there were entirely too many bedrooms and even with magic, it was a bit difficult to keep up. Harry had cooked a very nice dinner and Hannah wondered where he had learned to cook so well.

"Well, I had to learn to cook when I lived with my relatives," he replied quietly.

Hannah suspected there was more to the story than what he was telling her. '_Surely not…' _she thought. "Harry, what did you mean, you had to learn to cook?"

"Well, I didn't have the best childhood. I had to earn my keep…"

An angry thought took hold of Hannah as she imagined what might have happened. She knew he had always seemed undersized and malnourished. "Harry," she asked dangerously, "Just how young were you when you learned to cook? How often did you cook?"

_'Shite, that's a can of worms I didn't want opened,' _he thought. "Um, can we not talk about that please? It's a phase of my life I prefer to forget."

Hannah growled to herself. _'There is a lot I obviously don't know about him. Those relatives are going to suffer if I ever find out…'_ Scowling, she let it go and replied, Okay, I don't want to pry, but it pains me to think you might have been mistreated."

"Let it go Hannah, it's in the past. Want some popcorn while we watch the tele?"

Hannah sighed and nodded. "That sounds good. What are we watching tonight?"

"There's a re-run of Dr. Who that might be interesting," he replied.

"Hmm? Dr. Who? Who's the doctor? Is this a medical show?"

Harry guffawed at that. "No, I can't believe you've never seen Dr. Who. It's a great series that's been running for years. It started out as a really low budget film on BBC and is syndicated now. It's sci-fi, but really well done. Let's watch, you'll love it."

Hannah was a bit unsure, never watching movies as a young girl. Well, as a younger girl, since she was still a teenager for another year. "Sure, why not," she answered hesitantly.

Hannah had to admit to enjoying the show. Several times she had clutched Harry's arm in a death grip when a particularly tense scene played. Harry didn't seem to mind and wrapped his arm around her, bringing her closer. She instinctively cuddled into his shoulder, the heat from his body soothing her nerves. He had a nice clean smell that drew her closer. "Mmm," she cooed, "I could get used to this."

Harry smirked, happy that he could let out a bit of his own tension as well. Dr. Who certainly had its gripping moments.

After Hannah had left, Harry sat and wondered if something was developing between the two of them. He certainly was not averse to that. In fact, other than Hermione and Ginny… he winced as the memory of Ginny's broken body flooded his mind. _'So many friends died,'_ he thought sadly. _'At least Hermione and Hannah survived. I wonder how Hermione is?'_

With this thought, he drifted off to sleep on the couch.

Hannah had apparated home, slipped into her sleep ware but was unable to sleep. The clean smell of Harry invaded her senses and the closeness of his body had sent thrills through her; her blood racing and her heart pounding until she thought she'd melt into a puddle of goo. He seemed not to notice, and she was glad of that.

She'd had a crush on him for years and that afternoon when she saw I'm lying so still in the third floor corridor, pale and waxen, she thought she'd lost him. She almost panicked until she felt the faint pulse in his throat. She couldn't lose him now! Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey had worked her healing magic and he had recovered. Unfortunately, he had left as soon as he was able and dropped out of sight. It seemed no-one could find him until she had discovered him in the market. She'd told no-one, even her best friend Susan. She dared not, for she instinctively knew he would disappear again if the wizarding world found out. Susan was her best friend, but she couldn't hold a secret like that. Never mind, if Susan knew, then Neville would know and Merlin knew where that would go. Augusta Longbottom, Neville's Gran, was an inveterate gossip. No, she'd keep it quiet and hope for the best.

Tossing and turning, she finally sat up and looked at the old clock by her bedside. Two AM! Maybe a glass of tea would settle her. She arose and felt her way to the kitchen only to feel something wrong. She was sure she'd secured the kitchen window before she'd met Harry that evening.

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><p>Miles away, Hermione was wondering how Harry was. Sure, she'd seen him in the hospital wing and waited until he'd revived, assuring herself that he'd recover, but she was anxious to see her parents, not having seen them for over a year.<p>

She'd retrieved her parents from Australia and restored their memories. Monica and Wendell Granger were initially very cross with their daughter and many tears were spilled before all was forgiven. It had taken days before she'd told them the whole story and they'd been appalled at how close to death their daughter had come.

Hermione now ached to see Harry, but apparently he'd disappeared. She castigated herself for not staying longer to make sure he was really okay. Her nerves were on edge, suspecting all kinds of horrible things happening to him. Sleep did not come easily for Hermione Jane Granger. Unsure what to do with her life until Hogwarts re-opened, she moped around the house, tears readily forming in her eyes whenever she thought of the friends she'd lost. Finally, she apparated to Ottery St. Catchpole to visit Luna.

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><p>Harry awoke in a panic. Something was wrong. He couldn't pinpoint it, but an uneasiness settled over him. He'd trusted his instincts before and it had save his life, but this felt different. <em>'Hannah,'<em> he thought. _'She's in trouble!'_

Quickly dressing, he apparated to her front lawn. All seemed quiet until he heard a crash and a high pitched scream. It seemed to come from the back of the house.

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><p><em><strong>Flashback:<strong>_

Hannah had been in Greenhouse number 4 when the battle began. Nobody had warned her and she was alone. She was busily repotting a Venomous Tentacula and was having a tough go of it. The dratted plant kept trying to bite her, but finally the job was done just as a loud scream interrupted her thoughts. Wondering what was happening, a loud boom shattered the glass of the greenhouse, spraying shards everywhere.

Hannah winced as a pane shattered above her, cutting her the back of her hand and wrist as she reached up reflexively to protect herself. "Oww! What the hell?" In the back of her mind, she realised what had happened. "Death Eaters," she whispered. "I've got to get out of here! Where to go?"

That decision was taken out of her hands as a Death Eater suddenly appeared in the doorway. Diving under a workbench, Hannah reached for her wand and quickly levitated the Venomous Tentacula at the man. Scrabbling away, she sought safer refuge as the man cursed and tried to fight off the voracious plant. By that time, he'd lost an ear and the plant was viciously attacking his face. He screamed and ran, trying to disentangle himself from the plant, only to trip and fall into a bed of Devils Snare. Panicking as the plant wrapped itself around him tightly, he failed to see the bubotuber that sprayed undiluted pus straight into his eyes. Screaming horribly, the Death Eater died as the Devils Snare choked his last breath out of him.

Hannah retched at the sight of such a violent death. As she recovered, she decided to make a run for it. Weaving her way carefully around the dangerous plants, she exited the greenhouse, only to run straight into another Death Eater. Grabbing her, he made the mistake of trying to wrap his filthy arms around her head. Hannah bit him as hard as she could, twisting and kneeing him between his legs. He let out a grunt of agony and dropped her. Her wand was out in a flash and she sent a reducto at his head, spraying blood and gore everywhere. She ran. Heading towards the Quidditch field, she watched in horror as Hagrid's hut went up in flames. Great gouts of Fiendfyre engulfed his hut and hearing Hagrid's screams, she wept for the hapless half giant. There was nothing she could do except run.

The Quidditch stadium only offered a brief respite, as a dozen figures prowled the grounds, searching for easy victims. Hannah promised herself, not to be taken easily. Harry's DA lessons were firmly implanted in her mind and she made use of every dodging trick he had taught her. 'Better to not get hit in the first place,' was his first lesson. A fortuitous duck at just the right time saved her from a killing curse that found another mark instead, bringing down a Death Eater behind her. She sent a blasting curse at another man and watched as another curse just missed her and took down the first man. Survival was now her first priority as she dived under the stands. Crawling crablike deeper into the wooden struts and support beams, she heard the crack of a blasting curse as it hit a structural support above her. Splintered wood flew at her, and a sharp pain in her right leg caused her to cry out in pain. Then the whole structure collapsed around her. She fainted, buried under a mass of timbers and detritus. The world slowly resolved itself to her eyes sometime later and she groaned. She was still alive, thank Merlin, she thought and now she fought to free herself from her wooden prison. Thankfully, she'd only received a few bumps and scraps when the stands collapsed, other than the gash on her leg, which throbbed painfully. Finally working herself free, she carefully surveyed the pitch. Death and destruction were everywhere. A look at the school confirmed her worst fears. The once magnificent castle was a shambles, with turrets collapsed an stone blocks scattered about gaping holes in the walls. A deathly quiet hung in the air as she staggered toward what was once the main doors.

_**End flashback.**_

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><p>In Hannah's kitchen, a hand grabbed her. 'Well, it worked once.' she thought. 'Don't panic. this is a Muggle.' Wishing she had her wand, instead of leaving it on her nightstand, she bit down hard on the person's hand. A satisfying scream answered her as she wheeled around and kneed him in the crotch. The man, for indeed it was a man, collapsed like a sack of potatoes as she kicked him in the head. Even with slippers on, his head snapped back and hit his head on the old stone floor.<p>

A soft voice called cautiously. "Hannah? Are you all right?"

"Harry? Is that you?"

"Yeah, what happened, I heard a scream."

"I'm fine, wait and I'll turn a light on and let you in."

Light blazed in the cottage and Hannah unlocked the door. As Harry stepped inside, he looked about in shock. A man lay unconscious on the floor and Hannah stood over him in her nightclothes. Her very thin nightclothes. Harry gulped and looked away. There was an array of silverware spilled on the floor from a drawer that had dropped and upset.

Hannah's nerves gave out at that point and she ran to Harry's arms, wrapping her arms around him, tears streaming down her cheeks as the adrenaline rush flooded out of her. Sniffling, she told him how she couldn't sleep and came to make herself some tea when she felt something wrong.

"Harry, how... why are you here?"

"Um, I'm not sure, I just woke up suddenly and felt you were in danger, so I came..." he trailed off, unsure just what brought him here.

"Well, as you can see, I'm a big girl and can take care of myself, but thank you anyway. What shall we do with him?" as she pointed to the man on the floor.

"Police, I reckon," he answered. "Let's truss him up and then call a constable."

After dressing properly, they gave a statement to the constable that had arrived within a few minutes. The thief was revived and escorted to a waiting police van.

When they were alone again, Hannah, gathering her courage asked Harry to stay.

"I... Harry, will you stay the night, err morning? I don't feel like being alone right now."

Harry chucked to himself. "An invitation to milady's abode? How can I resist," he teased.

She swatted his arm and gave him a watery smile. "Milord would do me a great honour to stay. Really, Harry, I appreciate this. I still remember the battle and hate being alone."

"You never told me how you survived. I'd like to hear that story sometime."

She shuddered at the thought. "Not now, maybe when the memory isn't so raw. It was horrible. I killed two men at least."

Harry understood. He didn't like to remember either. "Sorry, Hannah, I understand completely. Now, how about some rest. I think we deserve that after all the excitement."

"Come to bed with me, Harry, There's nowhere else to sleep." Hannah blushed a light pink at this forward invitation.

"Erm, are you sure, Hannah? I've never slept with anyone before, at least not in the same bed."

"Yes, Harry, we're both tired, I'm sure it'll be alright." Hannah was secretly giving herself a high-five. _'Yes! Harry will be in my bed! Ooh, I've dreamed of this for years.'_ "Come on, there's enough room for both of us."

Harry was tired, and she did invite him... well, they were just sleeping, nothing inappropriate. _'She is quite beautiful though, maybe I'll ask her to be my girlfriend.'_ Harry yawned widely and followed her up to bed.

They slipped out of their clothes and arranged themselves in the large bed. Harry had kept his boxers on and Hannah changed back into her thin nightclothes. Harry tried not to look, but it was a losing cause. The thin garment barely hid her luscious curves.

"Cuddle up to me Harry, it's cold."

Harry gulped and did as she asked, carefully hugging her back to his front. She was warm and her long hair tickled his nose. After fidgeting for a few minutes, both adjusting their arms and bodies, they eventually fell asleep.

…..


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling I'm just playing in her sand box and make no money from this.

Rating is mature for language, violence and mature subjects.

Genera: Drama, Romance.

_**Warning, brief lemon in this chapter.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Soft As a Breeze<strong>

Hannah awoke early to find an arm curled around her chest, a hand cupping her breast. Sighing contentedly, she also noted something poking her in the bum. Something rather firm. Giggling, she moved herself a little closer and wiggled her bum, causing a groan from her bed companion.

Harry's eyes snapped open and he almost leaped straight out of bed. "S-sorry Hannah," he stuttered. "I-I d-didn't mean to… erm, excuse me, I need the loo."

Harry had been having a wonderful dream. Hannah had been doing naughty things to him and he was enjoying it entirely too much. When she'd ground herself into him in his dream, he'd almost lost it. When he found it wasn't a dream and her naked bum was firmly pressed against his very hard erection and his hand was massaging her breast, he almost had a heart attack. Jumping out of bed, he raced to the loo to relieve himself. _'Better have a shower while I'm in here. Make that a cold one!' _he mused, red faced.

"Harry," she called. "Are you alright?" He'd ran like a scalded cat to the bathroom. Presently she heard water running and presumed he was taking a shower. Well, since he was in the shower, she decided she could sneak in for a quick pee as well before he got out. "Damn, he locked the door." A quick alohomora and the lock was open. She quickly made it to the toilet and had just sat down when Harry exited the shower. "H-Harry," she stammered, getting the Full Monty from a startled Harry.

"Eeep! Hannah! I thought I'd locked the door." He scarpered back into the shower, his face crimson.

"Harry, I'm really sorry. I really had to pee and I thought you'd still be in the shower."

"Don't do that to me Hannah," he managed to squeak. "You almost gave me a heart attack, twice now within a couple of minutes!"

"Honestly, Harry, I was just teasing you a bit in bed, and I never thought you'd be that quick in the shower." Hannah had recovered much faster than Harry had and if truth be known, she really liked what she'd seen. Aside from the scars, which she promised herself to ask about later, he had a very nice body. Firm abs and pecs and if the relaxed state of his other wand could be taken as an indication, very impressive size. She wondered what that would be like to feel within her. She immediately blushed scarlet at that thought. _'Naughty, naughty, Hannah,' _she thought. But once thought, the image wouldn't leave her.

Harry noticed that Hannah had blushed quite red and wondered what brought that on, then realised that she had seen EVERYTHING. Deciding that turn about was fair play, he slowly exited the shower, turned and posed. "Now you've seen my bits, it's your turn."

Hannah stuttered and fled the room as quickly as possible after finishing her pee. "Harry!" she admonished, and then thought about it a bit. _'He is in my bedroom, on my invitation, I might add. This could be my chance. Do I dare…?'_ She sat on the bed as Harry dried himself and with a towel wrapped around himself, settled down on the bed beside her. Gathering her courage, she quickly rose and slipped her nightie over her head, revealing herself to him for the first time. She flushed pink with the flush working its way down her neck as he gazed at her.

She was gorgeous! Much better than he had imagined in his dream. Her firm, toned legs were smooth and except for the faint scar on one leg where she had been impaled, perfect. Hips that flared nicely with a tuft of soft blonde hair covering her sex. A nice flat waist rising to... oh my, perfect twin breasts, not too large, but definitely a handful. The blush had spread to the twin peaks and the pink nipples had hardened at his gaze. "Wow! There are no better words. You're gorgeous!"

Hannah smiled and walked to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, she rose on tiptoes and brought her lips to his, brushing them lightly, gently tugging on his lip, running her tongue against his bottom lip. He gasped and she slipped her tongue in, tasting his sweetness.

Harry groaned and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Deepening the kiss, he ran a hand down her back, squeezing, caressing probing, until he realized what was happening. His towel dropped and the heat of his body met hers. "No," he groaned, but it was too late.

Her hand had fisted in his hair and she seemed lost in the kiss. A primal growl escaped her throat and she moved her body closer, rubbing her legs against his. Sudenly she jumped and wrapped her legs around his waist feeling his heat, wanting more. She could feel his erection pressing against her sex and knew that she wanted him. She lowed herself onto his waiting cock, wiggling her way down until she was firmly impaled. She groaned in delight as he thrust up to meet her soft folds. "Ooh Harry!" she moaned.

Harry was lost in the heat of her body and his only thought was that he had to have her.

The bed was waiting and became their haven for the rest of the morning. They had pleasured each other again and again, finally falling asleep exhausted.

Later they awoke starving and found they had slept well into the afternoon. A quick trip to their favourite cafe for a late lunch and they returned to the cottage.

"I think we need to talk," he started.

"I'm sure we can think of something better to do than talk," she smirked, pulling him into a heated kiss. I think my boyfriend has way too many clothes on."

"You witch," he grinned. "You beat me to asking you to be my girlfriend."

"Yes! Oh Harry, I've been waiting forever to hear those words. You're not angry that I pursued you instead of the other way around?"

"No love, I think you're just what I need. You have a strong will and I admire that about you, never mind that fabulous body of yours."

They spent the rest of the day in bed, doing what lovers have done since the beginning of time.

* * *

><p>Days later, Susan was wondering about her best friend. Hannah had not spoken to her for several weeks now and she was worried. It wasn't like the bubbly blonde to ignore her. Of course she had spent much of her time with Neville, but now she had to see if Hannah was alright. <em>'Poor Hannah,' <em>she thought. _'So alone since the war. She was probably moping in her cottage, wondering where Harry was.'_ Susan knew that her best friend fancied Harry Potter, but he'd disappeared after the final battle. They had all looked for him, but it was hopeless. He could be anywhere. Hermione took it especially hard, since she had felt closest to him. When she had found her parents, she panicked at losing Harry. Harry was the only one she trusted with her life and Susan knew that when Ron died, she would try to pursue Harry. Susan snorted. Ron was just so wrong for her, Sure it was awful that he's died along with his sister and one of his brothers, but they'd all lost friends. The true depth of their loss was only now beginning to sink in. Thank Merlin that she had Neville.

"I'll go see her," she decided. Maybe Neville will come as well. She could use cheering up."

A quick floo call to her boyfriend found a willing Neville ready to set out for western Wales.

"Do you know how to apparate to Hannah's house?" she asked.

"I've never been there, in fact I've never been to Wales," he admitted.

"Not to worry, I can guide you. Hold tight and follow my lead. Concentrate on me."

It was awkward, but they managed not to splinch themselves as they wound up on the front lawn of Hannah's cottage.

"I hope she's home," as she knocked on the door. Hearing no answer, she tried the door and found it unlocked. "Come on, we'll wait for her inside until she comes home. She can't go far in this town."

As they entered the lounge room, they heard a sound. Both froze as the sound seemed to come from the bedroom.

"**Harry! Oh! Oh! Harder! Faster, I'm just about there! YES! YES! Ahh! That's it!**"

The squeaking of the bed told the story to the blushing redhead and her boyfriend. Quickly exiting the way they had come in, they looked at one another in wonder.

"D'you suppose… that was Harry Potter in her bed?" Neville shyly asked.

Susan snorted. "Neville, don't be dense, of course it was Potter. She wouldn't let anyone else near her."

"W-what do we do now?" he stuttered, completely out of his comfort zone with this development.

"We wait. They'll have to surface for air soon," Susan giggled.

Sounds continued for almost an hour before quiet descended and they chanced a knock on the door.

Presently a thoroughly disheveled Hannah answered the door. Her hair was a mess and her clothes looked thrown on. "Susan! Neville! What are you doing here?"

"More to the point," Susan smirked, "What were you doing in there? You should cast a silencing spell, you know. We could hear it all the way out to the street."

Hannah blushed a bright crimson just as Harry appeared behind her.

"Uh oh. Hi guys, what brings you to these parts?" he smiled slyly.

Like the cat that ate the canary, Susan thought. Maybe that was a little too apt.

Recovering quickly, Hannah ushered them in. "Well? What brings you to my little love nest? Come on in, make yourselves comfortable."

Susan was shocked that her best friend had recovered so quickly. Hannah was always the shy one. It looks like Harry had brought out the hidden side of Hannah. Who knew she could be so… so… what? Loud? Forward? Uninhibited? Nothing seemed to fit the Hannah that was now in firm control. In truth, Harry seemed a bit cowed in comparison. Hannah exuded a strong sexuality and confidence that Susan had never seen before.

Harry. Now that she looked closer, she could see that he was completely smitten with her friend. He had wrapped his arms around her possessively, planting kisses on her neck as she squirmed in his arms, giggling.

"Stop it Harry, We'll get back to that later."

Neville was shocked to the core. This was a side of Harry he'd never suspected. It looked like Hannah had him wrapped around her finger. "Harry, when did this happen? And more to the point, where have you been? We've been worried about you."

"Hi Nev. I just needed some time away from things to unwind. Hannah and I met almost a month ago. I live just up the coast. We got together recently." A smile a mile wide lit his face.

Susan was happy for her friend. Hannah, spill, how did you meet? Details girl. I was so worried that I hadn't heard from you."

"Well, we ran into each other by accident while we were shopping at the greengrocer. One thing led to another and we're now a couple. I see you and Neville seem to be together as well. When did that happen?"

Neville answered. "I finally saw the light just a few weeks ago. Susan is amazing. I'm so lucky that she wants to be with me."

"Now Neville, you know I've had my eye on you for a long time. You just needed a little push." _'Push indeed,'_ she thought to herself. _'I've been trying to get him to notice me for years.'_

"It's a little crowded here, whey don't we all go to my place," Harry suggested. "I have lots of room. You'll stay, of course? I've been wanting company for a few weeks now but it just seemed too big for just the two of us, plus this boyfriend girlfriend thing is really new to us."

Susan looked at Neville and he nodded. "Thanks, Harry. We can stay for a couple of days at least. It'll be nice to relax for a change. Have you two been studying at all? I think Hogwarts will reopen next year in September. The damage was really severe and it's taking longer than planned to rebuild. Whole sections had to be torn down, in fact, whole floors were almost destroyed. I had a look with Aunt Amelia a few days ago, and it's still a mess. It took months just to clear the rubble away."

"I've been studying most days, at least for a few hours, Seventh year and NEWTS will be hard. So you think September next year? How firm is that? That's over a year away yet."

"Pretty firm, according to my aunt. It's become a priority of the new government."

"I guess everyone is going back?" Neville asked.

"Yeah," they all answered.

"Has anyone heard from Hermione?" Harry queried.

"I have," Susan answered. "She's a bit lonely now, but she said she's going back. Her parents were a bit angry with her for sending them away and modifying their memories, but it's all good now. She asks for you Harry. She missed you when she left to retrieve her parents."

Harry felt a twinge of regret. He'd missed his best friend terribly, but couldn't bear to face her after all the people he knew died. He'd have to make it up to her somehow.

Hannah noted the sadness on his face. "We'll see her soon Harry. I know she's your best friend."

They spent the next hour catching up of their surviving friends and then apparated to Harry's manor. Both Susan and Neville were suitably impressed with the grand estate.

After settling in for the evening and having Harry cook a nice dinner, they watched the weekly episode of Dr. Who before starting to nod off. Harry showed them to their rooms and bedded down with Hannah in the master suite for the night.

Susan quickly made her way to Neville's bed and let him know that she would be sleeping with her boyfriend whenever they had the chance. And if he was good, he might get lucky tonight. Neville grinned at that. He'd been a bit randy ever since they had walked in on Hannah and Harry.

Susan and Neville accepted Harry's invitation to stay longer, needing the time to unwind as well. The days passed in bliss for the quartet, sleeping late and walking to the beach, strolling in the surf and generally having fun. Most evenings, they would study for a couple of hours; Harry had a complete set of seventh year books that he'd salvaged from the wrecked school. Most were in fair condition and he'd vowed to replace them with new books as soon as he could. Diagon Alley was a long way away and he loathed floo travel. Apparating was also not very appealing, so he tended to take the train whenever he needed to go somewhere.

Susan and Neville were happy in the new environment. Susan had only been to Wales a half dozen times to visit Hannah when they were younger. Neville had never really gone anywhere except to school. Harry, well aside from his trek across half of Britain in search of the Horcruxes with Hermione (mostly) and Ron, had also never been anywhere. Hannah and Susan were seasoned travellers, Susan with her aunt when she travelled to conferences in the summer, and Hannah when she joined her best friend.

One day they decided it was warm enough to go swimming. Harry had practiced a bit in a local pool and now was anxious to try the Irish Sea. They paddled about near the shore, not going out too far, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Both Susan and Hannah were excellent swimmers and the boys enjoyed seeing their girlfriends in skimpy bikinis. Hannah and Susan had a bit of a contest trying to outdo each other to see who had the skimpiest costume. Hannah was declared the winner when she appeared with a jaw dropping yellow thong. Harry looked around nervously to see if anyone else was on the beach to see his skimpily clad girlfriend, afraid the local constabulary might arrest her for indecent exposure. Susan giggled and gave up at that point. There was no way she would match that. Susan was too well endowed to risk an accidental costume malfunction. As it was, Neville was almost traumatized by the amount of skin showing on his girlfriend. Harry figured he'd died and gone to heaven. Hannah made him want to take her right there.

As autumn approached, Susan and Neville had to leave. They'd stayed in contact with their relatives, not mentioning Harry, as he didn't want anyone else to know where he was. With the first falling of leaves from the trees, Hannah and Harry were alone again. It had been a very nice soft summer.

….


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling I'm just playing in her sand box and make no money from this.

Rating is mature for language, violence and mature subjects.

Genera: Drama, Romance.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: The Leaves of Autumn<strong>

The lazy days of summer faded into the bright leaves of autumn. Hannah and Harry had moved back to her cottage, liking the smaller more intimate place. Long walks on the beach and brisk hikes through the town and hills helped Hannah recover full use of her leg. Even the scar was starting to fade now.

One morning Hannah awoke feeling nauseous and a quick trip to the loo prompted Harry to ask what was troubling his girlfriend.

"It's nothing Love, just a slight case of the flu I think. I think I'll go back to bed and rest." At that, she suddenly turned and emptied her stomach in the toilet.

"Maybe I should get a doctor," he suggested.

"No, you know muggle doctors can't treat witches. All sorts of things go wrong with their instruments."

"All the same, this isn't like you. Maybe some breakfast?"

Hannah turned green at the thought. "Erm, no. I don't think I could look at anything right now; maybe later."

Now Harry was worried. If she didn't feel better later, he was going to contact Madam Pomfrey.

After lunch, Hannah felt much better, then remembered something important. A thought filled her with dread. "Harry?" she called softly. "I-I t-think I forgot to do something that day we spent in bed when Susan and Neville arrived."

Harry remembered that day very well. They had made love for hours and he regretted none of it. Hannah had become an inseparable part of his life. "Something you forgot?" Then it hit him. "But, but, are you sure? I mean sure you were a bit randy, well so was I, but do you mean you forgot to take precautions?"

"Yes, Harry, that's exactly what I mean. I might be pregnant." Tears welled in her eyes as she imagined the problems this would create.

Shock filled his face, before a smile started forming on his lips, finally breaking out in a huge grin. "Excellent! I'm going to be a father!" Then realising what this would mean, he got down on one knee, taking one of her soft hands and raising his eyes lovingly asked, "Hannah, love of my life, will you marry me? Be my wife and raise our children?"

To say Hannah was speechless was an understatement. She had prayed for this day for years and now her lover had just proposed. She wasn't positive that she was pregnant, but she did miss her monthlies. After a few stuttering starts, she managed to find the words. "Yes, a thousand times yes, I'll marry you! Oh Harry, I can't believe this is happening! I've waited for so long for this day. Well maybe not finding out I might be pregnant, but all the rest, definitely yes."

Harry was taken aback for a moment. "Y-you're not happy to be pregnant?" he asked fearfully.

"Oh Harry, I'll admit it's a surprise and it'll take getting used to, but of course I'll be happy to have our child."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. All was right with the world. "I want to be sure. I'll take you to see Madam Pomfrey!"

There was no arguing with his firm tone, so she resigned herself for a long train ride. Magical transportation would be faster, but she knew now that Harry hated that.

"How do we get in touch with her? Surely St. Mungos would be easier." Hannah replied.

No, I only trust Poppy. Maybe Susan knows, or her aunt."

They had no floo connection, but a letter worked just as well. Fortunately Amelia Bones had a muggle letter drop and a few days later, a letter arrived asking if everything was okay. Susan had taken the letter from her perplexed aunt and answered herself. A few days later, Madam Pomfrey arrived with Susan.

"What's up Hannah?" were the first words out of Susan's mouth.

Harry had remained out of sight until he ascertained that it really was Susan and Madam Pomfrey. "Hello Poppy," he greeted the medi-witch.

Madam Pomfrey startled as she faced the most famous wizard of the time. "Mister Potter, I was not expecting you here."

"Well, I've been sort of hiding from all the publicity, trying to live a quiet life of seclusion."

"Well, what have you done to yourself this time Mister Potter?" her brisk no nonsense tone fearing the worst.

"Oh, it's not me, Poppy, it's my fiancée. We think she might be pregnant."

Susan promptly fainted.

"Oh my." Poppy waved her wand, reviving the young witch. "Well, let's get to it. What symptoms do you have Miss Abbott?"

"Morning sickness, I think. That plus I missed my period," Hannah answered reluctantly.

"HANNAH! When…" Susan yelled. "When did he propose?" she asked more quietly.

"A few days ago, he was so sweet about it. He proposed as soon as I suspected I was pregnant."

Madam Pomfrey was finished waving her wand over Hannah and cast a few spells. Then she quickly examined Harry. "I'm glad to say you are indeed pregnant Miss Abbott and the fetus is just fine, You can expect a normal pregnancy with birth in nine months. Do you wish to know the gender? Oh, and by the way, Mister Potter, you seem to be healthier than I would have expected after all you've been through. I'd like you both to report to Hogwarts Hospital wing in a month for a follow-up exam."

"I think I'd rather be surprised if it's a boy or a girl. What do you think Harry?"

"I'd love either, so that's fine.

"Please call me Harry, Poppy. We've known each other far too long to stand on formality. The Hospital wing is open?" Harry asked.

"Certainly, Harry, that's the first thing that needed to be fully functional. How else could we treat accidents that were bound to happen during reconstruction? Congratulations, by the way. And you, Miss Abbott, I expect you to take care of yourself. I'll have some potions sent to you to take care of the most annoying aspects of pregnancy."

"If it's to be Harry, then I'd like you to call me Hannah," Hannah replied smiling softly. "Harry trusts only you and I do too."

Poppy allowed a small smile to grace her face. "Fine, Hannah. I see Harry hasn't provided a ring yet. May I suggest you look in your parents' vault?"

Harry gasped. "My parents' vault? I thought I only had one vault."

"Nonsense, Harry, James and Lily were very wealthy. You also inherited Sirius Blacks property as well. Didn't anyone tell you that?"

"Um, no? I think the Goblins might hate me though, we did a great deal of damage to the bank when we were after something of Voldemort's."

"Actually Harry," Susan responded, "Aunt Amelia smoothed it over with the Goblins when she found out what had happened."

"There you go then. A visit to Gringotts is definitely in order, I suspect," Poppy smiled. "I'm sure your parents' rings are in there."

Madam Pomfrey left shortly after with the promise not to tell anyone where Harry was, and to keep their betrothal secret.

As soon as she was gone, Susan peppered Hannah and Harry with questions. "Why didn't you let me know? I haven't heard a word from you in a month. When are you getting married and where?"

"We haven't decided yet," Harry replied. "I'd marry her right now, but we wanted to be sure, and now we know.

* * *

><p>After Susan left, Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "You don't know how relieved I am that you're alright. I've been worried sick these past few days."<p>

"I know Love, now let's go for a walk. I need a bit of fresh air after all that excitement."

* * *

><p>Hermione sat with Luna, looking over the grassy slope of lawn and tangled bushes of the Lovegood estate. Strangely, the odd tower that was the Lovegood home was untouched by the war. While the rest of the UK's magical world had suffered massive damage, the Lovegood estate was left untouched.<p>

"He's alright now, you know," Luna spoke softly in her lilting voice. "He's found someone and she makes him happy."

A tear formed in Hermione's eye as Luna spoke. She had tried to find Harry and apologize for abandoning him in his greatest hour of need, lying in the hospital bed at Hogwarts. Her voice hitched as she asked the expected question. "How do you know, Luna?"

"I just know. My great aunt was a seer and I think I've picked up a bit of it. I can't see very far, but I've seen this for a month now. I dream, you know. Not always at night either. Harry has been in my dreams and he's with someone. She has blonde hair and I think I've met her, but I don't know who she is. She's in Hufflepuff, I think."

"I've loved him forever, you know," Hermione confessed. "Since first year I think, when he saved me from the troll."

"I know," she answered. "Why didn't you tell him?"

"Hermione snorted. "I couldn't. Despite being sorted into Gryffindor, when it comes to love, I'm a coward."

Luna sat rigid, staring off into space with a glazed look in her eyes. When she snapped out of it a few minutes later, she had a sad look on her face. Tears rolled down her face and she suddenly rose and ran into the house crying. "NO! It's hopeless! He can't…"

But that was all Hermione heard as the blonde girl fled.

Fear gripped Hermione's heart as she ran after the girl. "Luna! What did you see?"

"Go away, Hermione," she cried. "I mustn't tell you of all people. The future is too fluid to change, we must not try and tamper. Bad things happen when we tamper. You can't know what I've seen. EVER! Stay away from me Hermione. What happens, will happen."

Hermione felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach. Was the future that bad? How could it be worse than what had already happened. She shivered at the thought. _'Harry, I must find him.'_

She left, then, apparating back home.

Luna was sick with the knowledge of the future she'd seen. True, it was only a few months into the future, maybe as much as a year, but it was bleak. What happened after that she didn't see, but she supposed it was bad, very bad. _'Poor Harry.' _she thought.

* * *

><p>Harry and Hannah were deliriously happy. The autumn was turning out to be glorious; the leaves turning a rich golden and red as they stayed on the trees, only falling late in October. The weather cooperated with sunny, if cooler days and the odd frost overnight. Hannah started to show a bit of a baby bump after their marriage. The marriage was performed by the local pastor in Tywyn on a bright September morning. Susan and Neville were present for the bride and groom and the happy couple settled down to a very domestic life.<p>

Susan sighed at the look of her best friend when she'd married the boy of her dreams. Susan was happy for her and Harry, they deserved the happiness after all that had happened. She was hopping that Neville would ask her soon.

Soon enough, the rains of late autumn started and the weather closed down. The tourists had left and the town was a little less lively. Harry didn't notice. They would take long walks in the fog that seemed to form most mornings and when the weather turned nasty, they stayed inside, contented to cuddle and play cards or watch the tele. Dr. Who was always their favourite show and they rarely missed an episode.

Hannah and Harry were checked over by Madam Pomfrey in late October and again in late November and found fit. Hannah's leg had healed properly and only a faint scar could be seen.

Susan and Neville visited as often as they could and everything seemed perfect. Neville proposed one early December day and Susan was ecstatic. She said yes immediately and a wedding date was set for the New Year. Harry and Hannah promised to attend.

By Christmas, they'd had a light snowfall and although Hannah was now obviously pregnant, that didn't slow their sex life down any. She was randier than ever and Harry was ever ready to please, sometimes going at it like bunnies for hours.

Harry and Hannah had finally visited Gringotts after they'd seen Madam Pomfrey in October and found his mother's wedding ring in the family vault. The ring was exquisite and Hannah squealed in delight when he fit it on her finger. Harry had keyed Hannah into his vault and at the same time combined the Black vault with his own. Harry never realised he was so rich. The Goblins, although a surly bunch, had deducted the cost of repairs to the bank and let it go at that. They were happy that Harry had killed Voldemort, but business was business.

….


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling I'm just playing in her sand box and make no money from this.

Rating is mature for language, violence and mature subjects.

Genera: Drama, Romance.

**A/N:** This story will go places that some readers may not wish. If so, I kindly request that those that can't deal with that, stop reading when it gets to that point or before. This is the only warning I will give. The final chapter is already written and although I may change some small things, the outcome is set in stone. Beware, life is not always a fairy tale. There is a happy ending, but not as some expect.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: Winter<strong>

"Neville, are you ready for this?" Harry asked. "By the way, Susan looks gorgeous in her gown."

Neville was a bundle of nerves and his stutter had returned with a vengeance. "I-I-I g-guess s-so. H-Harry, t-thanks f-for being m-my b-best man."

"It's the least I could do for all the support you've given me and Hannah. Now get out there and marry the girl you've loved for years."

Susan was indeed gorgeous. Her long flowing silk gown emphasized her curvy body. Hannah, as her bridesmaid was also looking beautiful, if a little plump with the baby. She was now five months pregnant and her hormones were all over the place. Thankfully the potions provided by Madam Pomfrey controlled the emotional outbursts that muggle mothers to be would have. Still, the cravings were odd, to say the least.

There were many invited guests in the open air ceremony. Notable besides Augusta Longbottom and Amelia Bones, were Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout. Luna and Hermione were also there and both gasped at the advanced pregnancy of Hannah.

"I wonder who the father is?" Hermione whispered to Luna.

"Oh, I think we don't have to wonder, Hermione. Look at Harry. He has the biggest smile on his face I've ever seen," Luna replied quietly.

"Surely not. Hannah and Harry?"

"Didn't you see the rings on their fingers?"

"You saw this, didn't you Luna. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, but I did. Remember that day?"

"But, but, you didn't say who, or that they were married."

"Didn't I say she was a Hufflepuff?" Luna replied. "I later saw they'd married and she was pregnant, but we haven't seen each other since that day. And no, I won't tell you anything else. It's too dangerous to know, and who knows, it might change."

Tears rolled down Hermione's cheeks. Her dreams of marrying her green eyed love were over. Hannah looked radiant on the podium beside Susan. A soft sob escaped her and she turned away, not wanting to spoil the happy day for Susan and Neville. Unobtrusively, she made her way away from the ceremony and apparated back home, only allowing herself to break down completely when she was safe in her bedroom.

Luna was sad for her friend. It would be hard for Hermione to recover from her heartbreak, but she'd brought it on herself. Waiting until it was too late to snag the boy of her dreams. The future was still in flux, but a happy ending for Hermione was still possible. Just not how she envisioned it. The seer in her was getting stronger lately, but there were some things too fuzzy to see. _'Harry, so much heartache to come,'_ she thought.

* * *

><p>After the ceremony and party. Harry and Hannah mingled with the guests. Harry looked for Hermione but couldn't find her. His heart fell. He missed his bushy haired friend. Spotting Luna, he hurried over.<p>

"Hi Luna, have you seen Hermione?"

A sad look formed on the thin blonde's face. "She was here but she left."

"Why did she leave? I wanted to see her."

"Harry, you know the reason why. She was in love with you. Did you not know?"

"What? But she never said anything. I thought she loved Ron."

"She never loved Ron and now, because of her cowardice, she'll never love again."

"Surely not. I mean, never is a very long time, I'm sure she'll meet someone."

"No Harry, You were always the only one. Be happy that you're with a girl that loves you with all her heart. Hannah was always one of the two girls who loved you truly. Hermione will still be your friend, just not your wife." Luna didn't add that she had foreseen many different outcomes in the next year, but it was too confusing to separate the truth from the might happen.

"How do you know all this?" Harry asked. The quirky girl always seemed to know somehow.

"My aunt was a seer, I have a bit of her gift. Please don't ask any more. I can't tell you and I'm not sure myself."

Harry was upset. Hermione had been his best friend as long as he could remember. Hannah was now his wife and was amazing. He'd have to see Hermione and try to smooth this over, but right now, the party was in full swing.

"Thanks Luna, I guess I didn't need to know that… I have to find a way to make it up to Hermione. She's been the rock I depended on for so many years, I feel bad that I've hurt her, albeit unintentionally."

* * *

><p>Settling back home, Harry brought up a subject that had been bothering him for some time now. "Hannah, I think we should move into my manor."<p>

"Why, Harry? We're happy here and it's just the right size for the two of us."

"Well, there will soon be three of us and maybe more later. I don't want us to feel cramped. This place is just big enough for the two of us. I don't know how you managed when your parents… Sorry, didn't mean to bring that up."

"No, it's okay, they died just after your parents did in the last war, err the one before the latest that is. I was a baby and I only discovered this cottage in my parents' will a few years ago when my muggle aunt went through the papers. Susan and I would spend a few weeks here during the summer. By the way, Harry, you never told me how you came to be here. Did your parents' leave this to you?"

"No, I never even saw their will until that day we went to Gringotts to get your ring. Most of this story you'll have never heard. Hermione, Ron and I went hunting evil dark objects that Voldemort used to protect himself from dying permanently. He hid parts of his soul in different objects that he bound them to. Horcruxes they're called. He couldn't truly die until they were all destroyed."

Hannah gasped at this bit of news. "That's horrible, Harry."

"That's not the worst of it. To make a Horcrux, he had to murder someone, but there was a ritual as well to perform on the soul container.

Hannah almost gagged at that.

"Anyway, we were gone for months and needed money to survive, so I emptied my trust vault. After the war, I still had lots of Galleons left so I used them to buy the manor. It was offered at a reasonable price and was as far away as I could get and still be in the UK. It's a bit larger than I needed at the time, but I figured if I married," he smiled at that. "If I married, I might need a larger place to raise children. I always wanted a family and now I've got one. I'd like more than one child though, I hope you do too."

"Oh Harry, I'd love as many as you want." Happy tears formed in her eyes. "So Love, when do we move?"

"There's no hurry, the baby is not due for four months yet."

"Harry, four months is just barely enough time. I won't be able to help much now. I already feel like a whale. We'll have to set up a nursery and redecorate. The manor hasn't been lived in for months, there's lots of cleaning to do. Even with magic, the manor is going to take months to clean properly. I want our baby to come home to a proper home, not some place that hasn't been cleaned in months. Besides, the manor is a bit gloomy. What did you do all those months you were there?"

Harry chuckled at the take-charge attitude of his wife. Hufflepuff indeed! The hard working house had certainly earned its reputation.

"Um, relaxed?" he tried.

"Slacked off, is more like it Harry James Potter!"

"Come on Mrs Potter. I needed the down time after the battle."

Hannah giggled at the attempt by her husband to justify living like a slob. Sighing in resignation, she reminded him. Four months, Harry. Vacation is over. I'll help where I can, but we've got our work cut out for us."

"Yes ma'am. You direct and I'll provide the muscle."

The next day, the couple set to work. Harry admitted the manor needed a lot of work. He'd considered contracting the work out to the locals, but figured that with such a small population, there wouldn't me much help available in Tywyn. A plumbing shop and an ironmonger were about it.

They'd maintained the cottage to live in until the manor was ready and as the days turned in to weeks, progress was starting to make itself apparent. A month later, Hannah was staying away more and more, as her condition made it awkward to be of much help. Harry had cleaned the manor thoroughly and was working on the nursery. Hannah wanted it beside their master bedroom, but allowances had to be made for the size of the room. Most rooms were appropriate size, but the next room to the master suite was too small. Harry compromised and used the room across from their bedroom. It was a bit catty-corner, but they decided it was close enough.

Another month went by and the manor was taking shape. Gone were the dark colours and woods, replaced by cool bright colours and lighter warm woods. The creaking wood floors were repaired and in some cases replaced with tile. Area rugs were purchased and new furniture installed. The kitchen was completely redone in a more open format with a breakfast nook. The main dining room was renovated with chandeliers and new cabinetry. Still to do were the four guest bedrooms and the main lounge. They hired a local crew to paint the interior and that had started their first argument. Hannah wanted muted greys and Harry would have preferred shades with a bit more colour to them. In the end, they settled for warm light browns and variants. The kitchen was a light canary yellow with red accents. Definitely the brightest, cheeriest room in the manor. All new modern stainless steel appliances finished that off nicely. Hannah was not used to muggle appliances, but eventually decided she liked them. Harry had lived with them at the Dursley's and much preferred them to wizarding alternatives.

Hannah was now nearing term and after a final checkup with Poppy was set to enter life as a mother. That was when an unexpected thing happened.

Poppy gasped in surprise as she examined Hannah. "Hannah, I don't know how I missed it, but you're going to have twins! There are two heartbeats, not one. The other one is so close to being the first in timing that it's not surprising that I missed it, but there are also two magical cores that I should have caught. Astounding, I've never missed that before. I wondered why you had gained so much weight but thought it was just going to be a big baby."

"Twins?" Hannah gasped. "We weren't planning for twins! Harry?"

Harry's jaw dropped at the news. Then he smiled that happy smile that Hannah had so come to love. His face lit up and he punched the air in victory. "YES! Oh Hannah, thank you! Twins, I can't believe it! You've made me so happy! Twins," he repeated, "Unbelievable."

"Now, Harry," the medi-witch cautioned, now in her full professional role. "There might be slight problems delivering, so I want you two to be extra careful for the next month. No lifting, Hannah, and definitely more bed rest until your water breaks. I'd prefer you to be close at hand when the time comes, and most importantly, no magical travel."

Harry thought about that and was at a loss. Tywyn was too far to travel by muggle means when the time came. He would not endanger the babies, but the choices were limited where they would stay. They had a month, but realistically they had less as they had to be close by when the time came. He'd have to think about that. "Right. Then we'll have to move when the time comes. I don't know where, but perhaps Hogsmeade will have a place to stay."

Hannah was still coming to grips with the fact of twins. "Harry, we're not prepared for twins. The manor…"

"Hannah," he said softly. "That's a minor issue that I can fix, don't worry, it'll be great. Twins! Oh Hannah, I love you so much!"

They left with a promise to keep Poppy informed as the time got closer.

…..


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling I'm just playing in her sand box and make no money from this.

Rating is mature for language, violence and subject matter.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Que Sera Sera<strong>

Harry had modified the nursery to accommodate twins. They were still coming to grips with the reality of twins. Hannah was now huge and there were only a few weeks left until she was due to deliver. She was irritable and bed ridden for most of the time now and they hadn't moved from the cottage. The manor was ready, finally, but Harry didn't want her having to navigate stairs from their bedroom to the kitchen nook. The cottage was just so more convenient and easy to manage for the few times Hannah would venture out of bed.

One morning, Harry decided it was time to move. He shuddered at the long train ride, but knew he couldn't travel that far any other way. The hours passed and they'd changed trains as usual, finally winding up at Hogsmeade late in the evening. Harry thanked Merlin that the Hogwarts Express still ran. Walking into the town with Hannah, he managed to rent a room for a week at The Three Broomsticks and settled in for the wait. Harry floo called Poppy to let her know where they were staying.

The next day, the medi-witch floo'd over and knocked on their door.

"Hello Poppy, nice to see you again," Harry greeted. "Hannah is in the bedroom."

Poppy smiled and hugged him, startling the young man. Poppy never did that to anyone.

"Well, let's get to it then. How's she coping?"

"As well, as you can expect, she's irritable and complaining. Other than that, she's fine. I think she just wants to get it over with and I can't say that I blame her."

Poppy Pomfrey donned her professional persona and walked into the bedroom to greet Hannah Potter. "Hello Mrs. Potter, how are you feeling?"

"Silly question, Poppy. I feel like a beached whale. I'll be glad when this is all over. And my husband will regret it if I ever get in this condition again."

Harry winced at that. He loved his wife dearly, more than he ever thought possible, but he knew they both enjoyed the passionate sex they shared.

Poppy ran her wand over Hannah and read out a few reading that appeared at the tip of her wand. "Hmm, might be a bit early. I'd like you to come to the Hospital wing in a day or so. Certainly by the end of the week. If you feel your water break, I want to know immediately.

The rest of the week was spent quietly and on Friday, Harry helped his wife to Hogwarts. It was awkward, even with the carriage supplied drawn by a Thestral. Once in the Hospital wing, she was helped to a comfortable bed.

Harry noticed that the castle had been extensively rebuilt but still had a fair bit of work left to complete. All the staircases had been replaced and the main Great Hall was at least serviceable. Not much was complete in many of the classrooms that they had passed, although the main ones were at least serviceable. He'd inquire about the rest of the work later.

That night, Hannah's water broke and Harry waited nervously, waiting by his love's side for the twins to be delivered. At 4:30 AM, Poppy delivered a boy and a girl to an ecstatic father and mother. Hannah was exhausted. She had no idea that labour would be so painful and draining.

"Harry, we held off naming, not knowing whether they would be boys or girls." She shyly looked at her husband. "One of each, so we don't have to decide on a second same sex name now. Say hello to James and Lillian, daddy." Hannah smiled in that angelic way she saved just for him. The smile that melted his heart."

"Hello, James and Lillian, loves of my life. Your mummy is amazing to produce such angels. I-I love all three of you," he stammered, tears of joy in his eyes.

* * *

><p>They spent two days at Hogwarts resting before leaving for home. Word had reached Susan and Neville and they visited and admired the babies. The surprise though, was Luna and Hermione showing up. Luna cooed at the babies and congratulated Harry and Hannah. Hermione shyly approached Harry and tried to apologise for leaving him after the battle and missing his wedding. "Harry, Hannah, I'm so happy for you. Please forgive me for not being there for you this past year. I'm really sorry. Hannah, you have a wonderful husband and I know you'll take good care of him. Harry, Hannah is a wonderful witch and I wish I'd spent more time getting to know her. Hufflepuffs really are the best and most loyal people. She suits you just fine."<p>

"Hermione," he choked. "You have nothing to apologise for. You had the most important people to you to take care of. I wish I was able to save my parents as you've saved yours."

Tears of gratitude filled Hermione's eyes as she hugged her best friend. "Can I visit?" she asked, overcome with emotion.

"Of course, Hermione," Hannah answered. "Harry wanted to invite you over for ages, but felt awkward. Hermione, Can I ask you to be the godmother to Lillian?" Harry nodded to his wife. "Harry wanted you to be the godmother to one of the twins."

"Hermione couldn't hold back the tears and wept openly. "Of course. I'd be honoured," she blurted though her tears.

"Susan and Neville, will you be the godparents of James?"

Susan and Neville smiled happily and nodded. "We'd be more than honoured, Hannah and Harry."

Luna looked on with sad eyes behind her smiles. The possibilities were narrowing and only a faint hope remained that this would turn out well.

They chatted until Madam Pomfrey shooed the visitors out. The Potters needed the rest.

* * *

><p>The train trip home was uneventful. The Hogwarts Express was mostly empty, just some Hogsmeade workers and families wanting a day in Diagon Alley. Harry, Hannah and the twins had a compartment to themselves and were undisturbed. Hannah was just getting used to breast feeding the babies and her nipples were a bit sore. Harry smiled at seeing the twins suckling at their mother's breasts. So domestic that it caused a tear of happiness in his eye. He blinked it away and cuddled his wife closer to him, the twins sound asleep after their feeding.<p>

"Happy?" she cooed to him.

"You know I am. You're going to be a wonderful mother."

Hannah smiled happily at her husband. "You know, you'll be a fine father too. I can see the love in your eyes. The positively glow."

After they arrived at Kings Cross Station, they changed trains for Wales and arrived home late that evening.

The next few weeks were busy getting the new family settled in to the manor. James and Lillian were quiet most of the time but still demanded a lot of attention. Harry gained the experience all new fathers had of changing diapers and rocking his children back to sleep after their frequent feedings. Hannah was just starting to get adjusted to feeding the children at odd hours and was constantly tired. Her magic had still not stabilized after the birth and Harry could tell that she was not sleeping well. The children, on the other hand, were quite content to feed and sleep. And of course, dirty their diapers. Magic helped there, for with twins, there was twice the load to clean. Harry had learned to bathe the babies, to take a bit of the strain off his always exhausted wife.

A month after their birth, Harry was beginning to worry about his wife. She seemed to be constantly tired and would sometimes stumble around the house. She shrugged it off as just being tired and not able to wake up, but Harry knew it was more than that.

She had seen Madam Pomfrey and the medi-witch had noted that her magical reserves had not yet fully recovered, which was surprising but nothing to worry about at this time. She prescribed Pepper-Up potions, but cautioned her not to use them too often, as they were addictive. She also prescribed a vile tasting strengthening potion that would help restore her magical core.

Another month passed and the twins were thriving when disaster struck.

Hannah had just fed the twins and put them down and was coming down for breakfast when she felt faint and missed the top step of the staircase. As she fell, she screamed and Harry came running from the bedroom; watching in horror as his wife tumbled down the stairs. He was too late to arrest her fall and she lay very still at the bottom of the stairs.

"NO! HANNAH!" He rushed down the stairs, cursing at the long staircase. Stumbling to his wife, he looked on in horror as he saw the awkward angle of her head. Fearing the worst, he felt for a pulse. Finding none, he quickly levitated her up to bed and floo called Madam Pomfrey. He'd had the fireplace installed and connected to the floo network just last week.

"Poppy," he gasped, as the medi-witch answered the call. "Something terrible has happened. H-Hannah! I-I think..., she fell down the staircase. I think she broke her neck! She's not breathing!"

"Stand back Harry and let me through."

Madam Pomfrey quickly grabbed her wand and medical bag and popped out of the floo in the Potter lounge. "Where is she?" she demanded.

"U-Upstairs i-in bed. Poppy, I can't find a pulse!" he cried. He led her up the steep staircase, cursing himself on the high ceilings that had once seemed so attractive and now helped spell tragedy.

"Move aside, Harry." She quickly performed several spells, trying to revive Hannah. Harry had straightened her neck, but the medi-witch quickly found that her neck had snapped. She had died before she hit the bottom of the stairs. A sad look that Harry quickly noted passed over her face. "I'm so sorry, Harry, there's nothing I can do, I'm afraid she's dead."

"NOOO!" Harry wailed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Sorry. That was always my plan. Next chapter, Harry tries to do something about it. Sorry for the short chapter, and the cliffy, but this was a natural place to end the chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling I'm just playing in her sand box and make no money from this.

Rating is mature for language, violence and subject matter.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Solutions?<strong>

Harry was in shock. How could he not have foreseen this. Hannah was still recovering from childbirth and was always tired. He should have known the stairs would be too much for her. Now what would he do without her?

"Harry, Harry! Listen Harry," Madam Pomfrey shook him to make sure he was paying attention. She didn't want him going into shock at this critical time.

"Poppy, what am I going to do? She was everything to me!"

"Harry," she said sternly. "You have two children that need attention now. You can't forget about them! Without a mother and her milk, they will die. We need to make arrangements. We need a mother that is lactating, preferably one that is magical. We can induce lactation if necessary. Who do you trust? And by that, I mean implicitly."

Harry shook his head, trying to come to grip with what the medi-witch was saying. _'The children. Gods, what about James and Lillian?'_ "Hermione! I'd trust her with my life, in fact I have many times. But, there are two children, will Hermione be able to take care of both?"

"That shouldn't be a problem, but we could use a back-up plan just in case. What about Susan?"

"Um, well, I trust Neville, so I guess I trust Susan as well," he replied, a little uncertainly.

"Then we'll see if Hermione is willing. She is the godmother to Lillian, isn't she?"

"Yes, Hannah wanted her to be and Susan and Neville are the godparents to James. I'll have to ask them."

"Do it now," Poppy strongly suggested. "They'll both need feeding in a few hours. When did Hannah last feed them?"

"Um, she just fed them a few minutes ago. Oh Poppy, what am I going to do without Hannah?"

"Be strong for her Harry, she would have wanted that."

Tears streaming down his face, he floo called Neville.

"Hi Harry, how's the new daddy?" His face fell when he noted the grief stricken man facing him in the fire. "What's happened?"

Harry completely lost it then. Sobbing, he told Neville what had happened. "She's dead Neville, she fell down the main staircase. I need to ask you and Susan something and I need to get in touch with Hermione right away. The children, they need to be fed with mothers milk. I need to ask Hermione and Susan if they could supply them."

"Harry! That's horrible! Wait, I'll get Susan."

Harry waited while Neville roused Susan who was having a bit of a lie-in. Soon, a sleepy Susan greeted him and immediately noted the panicked look on his face. "Neville said you wanted to ask me something? What happened, you look like you lost... No! Tell me, Harry. Is it the children?" At the look on his face, she knew. "Hannah? Harry, Not Hannah? Please tell me my best friend isn't..." But she couldn't continue, when Harry hung his head and nodded, his face ashen with grief.

"Susan, you're James Godmother. I need a special favour. Poppy says she can get you to produce milk and both James and Lillian need magical mothers milk. I have to ask Hermione as well for Lillian. Please, Susan, I'm desperate! The children won't survive otherwise."

"How did it Happen?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

After Harry explained, he asked if one of them could get in touch with Hermione.

"I'll be right there, Harry. Is the floo in the cottage still open? Of course I'll help."

"No, but you can floo right here. I'll open the connection for you. Thanks Susan, you don't know how much this means to me right now."

A few moments later, Susan arrived, closely followed by Neville. Both Longbottoms hugged Harry and tried to calm him. Madam Pomfrey took Susan aside and explained what she needed to do to get her to produce milk.

"You need to relax and let it flow naturally." She waved her wand over each breast to prepare her. "The babies know what to do. Your nipples will be a bit sore at first, but you'll get used to it.

"Now Harry, you'd best get in touch with Hermione. Can you apparate to her place?"

"Apparate! Of course, why didn't I think of that! Will you three be alright here until I get back? There are wards to keep nosy neighbors away, but we rarely had any visitors."

"We'll be fine," Poppy assured him. Go!"

Turning on the spot, Harry disappeared, arriving at the Granger house moments later. It was a rather long distance apparation, but Harry had gone farther with Dumbledore. Hurrying up to the door, he knocked and waited, hoping that his best friend would help him once more.

Hermione's mother answered the door. "Hello Harry, what brings you here? Come in, Hermione's upstairs."

Harry entered and was offered a seat.

"Hermione, Harry's here."

"How's Hannah and the children? Hermione told us that you had married and had twins." She paused at the stricken look on the face on her daughter's best friend. "Harry? What happened?"

Hermione came charging down the stairs and wrapped Harry in a massive hug. "Harry," she breathed, and then let go and stepped back when she noticed the grief stricken look on his face. "What happened?"

A fresh set of tears rolled down his cheeks and he haltingly told his best friend what had happened.

"NO! Not when you've finally had something nice happen in your life! It's not fair! Hannah was a wonderful person. Oh Harry, I'm so sorry! What can I do to help? Do you need anything?"

"Hermione," he said softly, recovering a bit. "I need a big favour. I hate to ask, but you are Godmother to Lillian. She needs to be breast fed. Poppy said she can induce lactation if you're willing. Susan says she can handle it if you can't."

Monica Granger looked at her daughter and a nod from her settled it.

"Of course, Harry. I'd be more than happy to feed Lillian. I'm afraid I'm not as... erm, busty as Susan, but I think it'll work just fine. I don't think I'd be able to feed both though. Hannah was quite a bit bigger than me and she'd been building up for that for months. I'm a small C and Susan is probably a large D. We'll work it out. When were the children last fed?"

"H-Hannah f-fed then about an hour ago." Harry's emotions were getting away from him again. "Thanks H-Hermione, you're the greatest." He hugged her and waited for her to get ready.

Monica could see how upset Harry was and assured him that Hermione would do anything to help him. "She always talked about you, Harry. Every letter she wrote home mentioned you. I think she hoped you'd marry her, but she was happy that you found Hannah and realised that Hannah was good for you."

"Thank you Mrs Granger. Hermione has always looked out for me. I thought she was with Ron and I didn't want to interfere. After he died, I figured she'd gone into mourning. I don't know why we never dated. I never knew she had romantic feelings for me. Hannah was the only one that made me feel complete. I miss her so much."

Hermione came back down the stairs and Harry side along apparated them to the manor.

When they arrived, Poppy took her aside and performed the same spell as she did for Susan. "Miss Granger, I'm glad to see you care enough to help Harry in this. He's very fragile now and liable to do something foolish. Keep an eye on him, will you?"

"Of course, Madam Pomfrey. Harry's my best friend, but Harry gets some funny ideas in his head at times. I think I know him best, so I'll make sure to keep him focused and safe."

"Thank you dear, Harry needs all the help and support he can get from his friends. I just checked on the children. Susan and Neville are with them now in the nursery, Both have been fed and they won't need another feeding for a few hours. Your nipples may become sore but they'll harden up soon enough. Susan can produce much more milk than you, dear, so I think you should feed Lillian. As her Godmother, there's a magical bond between you and that will help in her development. As a witch, you'll help stabilize her magic. I noticed that both babies magical cores were a bit more advanced than usual. This may be why Hannah was so tired all the time. Oh dear, I should have noted that when they last visited."

"Harry," she called. "I need to speak to you as well."

"What is it Poppy? Will Hermione be able to feed Lillian?"

"Yes, no worries there, but I'm sorry I didn't notice it at the time Hannah came in for her last check-up. She was always tired if I remember. Well, I just remembered why. It's a very rare thing, but the babies were drawing magic from Hannah. No wonder she was always tired. It may also have contributed to her fall. She might have fainted after feeding both children! My goodness, what a tragedy. If I had realised, I would have put a bind on their magic. I remember now, Mister Potter, we had to do that to you when you were born. We removed it when you were one year old. How could I have forgotten! I'm so sorry, I blame myself for this tragedy."

"Poppy, you said it's rare, I don't blame you, that was a long time ago. Can you put the bind on the children now? I don't want Hermione or Susan to suffer the same fate!"

"Of course, I'll do it now. I'll have to remove it a year from now. I'll make a note. Any odd effects you notice, you be sure to let me know, Miss Granger, and you too Mister Potter. I'll see you two in a bit." And with that, Madam Pomfrey returned to the nursery to inform Susan and cast the binding spell on the babies.

"Harry, you know I'll be here for you. I would do anything for you, you know that. I think it'll be best if I move in here until the babies are on formula. Um, they do use formula in the magical world, I think. I'll have to research that. Probably Madam Pomfrey knows."

Harry gave a ghost of a smile. "Ah, my little bookworm. I'm so glad to have you here. Of course you'll stay. I'll set up a room for you. One for Susan and Neville too, while I'm at it."

* * *

><p>The days passed and Harry grew more depressed. Yes, the children were doing fine, but he was beginning to spend less and less time with them and more time pouring over obscure books that he'd collected over the years. He knew nothing could bring Hannah back from the dead. After all, he'd read "Beedle the Bard and The Three Brothers, along with Hermione when they were hunting Horcruxes. There was a possibility that a time turner could be used to save her, but several days had elapsed from her death and he didn't know if a the magical hour glass worked that far back. So he'd read everything he could, hardly spending time to eat, sure that he could save his lost love if he could find the right book.<p>

Hermione made sure he ate, but grew worried for her best friend. He spent most of the day in those books but would chase her away when she asked him what he was looking for. She noticed how depressed he'd become and finally confronted him. "Harry James Potter! What are you looking for. You know I'll help you research if you'll let me."

"Mione, I know you want to help, but I'm not sure you can. I remembered you used a time turner in third year to take extra classes and we used it to save ourselves, Buckbeak and Sirius, but I can't find any reference to going back further than twenty-four hours. I need to find a way to save Hannah and it's already a week since she..."

"Harry," she replied more softly this time. "Time turners won't bring Hannah back. You remember when Dumbledore said you must not be seen by yourselves? Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. You can't change anything that has already happened that you know about. If you had been able to go back and save Hannah without knowing she'd already died, you might have been able to do something. I'm sorry Harry, I really am, but she's dead. You can't save her. If one could, people would never die accidentally."

Harry broke down at that, sobbing hysterically. "NOOO! I can't live without her! I won't live..."

Hermione slapped him HARD. "HARRY, listen to me. Think of the children! They need you! You need them. They're your responsibility now. Don't make me hex you!"

Harry practically leaped leaped into Hermione's arms, sobbing, tears saturating her shirt. She enfolded him, rubbing her hand calmingly on his back, soothing him with soft words.

Susan and Neville chose that moment to peer into the den, wondering what was happening. With a quick shake of her head and a mouthed 'Not now', she managed to convey that she was taking control of the situation, she'd explain later.

It was late and she managed to get Harry up to bed. She knew he didn't sleep well and had been cast silencing spells over his bed, but tonight he was just exhausted. She'd explained to Susan and Neville that Harry had completely broken down and she had managed to comfort him. After feeding Lillian and Susan feeding James, the trio had a heart to heart talk.

"He's still hurting guys and I don't know how to help him. He misses Hannah so much that it's tearing him apart. He actually wanted to use a time turner to go back and save her," Hermione told them.

"You know that's impossible," snorted Susan. All those time turners were destroyed in fifth year. My aunt says the unspeakables were very upset about that. It'll take years to make new ones. Besides, it's impossible anyway."

"I told him that," Hermione returned. "You can't save anyone once they're dead. You can't prevent a death by changing time. It doesn't work that way."

"I never knew that," Neville interjected. Didn't you two save Buckbeak?"

"That was different. They hadn't actually executed him when Harry and I rescued him. Same with Sirius. He wasn't kissed by the Dementors because Harry cast a Patronus that saved him and himself. That could have been disastrous if the original Harry had realised who saved him, but fortunately he didn't. In any case, no one had actually died. This time, it's different. Hannah died. There is no way to save her and once Harry comes to realise that he can start to move on."

They talked a bit longer and fed the twins before putting them down for the night. Suddenly they heard a scream coming from the master bedroom.

"Harry. He must be having a nightmare. I'll look after it. You two go to bed and get some rest. The twins should sleep until early morning," Hermione told them.

She quickly made her way to the master bedroom and found Harry thrashing about wildly, crying out Hannah's name.

"Hannah, no, don't. NOOO! HANNAH!"

Figuring the only way to ease his nightmares, she did what she'd done a couple of times in the tent when they were searching for Voldemort's dark objects. She slipped out of her clothes and crawled into bed with him, stroking his back, whispering soothing words. He stilled almost immediately and settled back. She cuddled up to his back, giving her warmth and comfort to her best friend. He sighed in contentment and fell into a deep sleep. "Hannah," he whispered.

Tears in her eyes, she snuggled closer and wrapped her arms around him. Finally, sleep claimed her too.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling I'm just playing in her sand box and make no money from this.

Rating is mature for language, violence and subject matter.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: How Do We Get There? (The beginning)<strong>

Harry awoke the next morning feeling refreshed. It was the first good nights sleep he'd had in days. In fact, since Hannah died. He'd dreamed of Hannah last night and actually felt her next to him. Or so he thought. But that was impossible. _'I have to check on the twins,'_ he thought.

Susan and Hermione were feeding the twins when Susan brought up a touchy subject. "Erm, Hermione, what did you do last night? Harry quietened down quite suddenly."

Hermione blushed. "I slept with Harry, but honestly, I just cuddled him, nothing inappropriate happened."

Susan raised an eyebrow at that. "Do you think that's a good idea, Hermione? You know he's still grieving for Hannah. You don't want to start a relationship with him this soon."

Hermione scoffed at this. "Susan, come on, he's my best friend. It's true that I wished that he'd married me, but I respect Hannah too much to try to take her place. Harry will decide by himself what direction he wants to go with me. For now, he's firmly in the best friend category. I slept with him (no, not in that way) when we were alone hunting for Voldemort's Horcruxes. Really, he needed relief from his nightmares. That's what last night was about. You'd better not bring this up with Harry. He's not to know, but rest assured, I'll do whatever it takes to heal Harry."

Susan looked at her suspiciously, but nodded her head, accepting what Hermione had told her.

Susan and Hermione had just finished feeding the twins and were sitting down to breakfast with Neville when Harry walked in.

"How did you sleep last night, Harry?" Neville asked.

"Fine. It was a little strange though. Hannah kept invading my dreams, cuddling me and soothing me telling me everything would be alright. I could almost swear she was there. It was a very pleasant dream, I just wish it was true."

Susan almost choked on her food and Neville had to pat her back to get her breathing properly again. "Something go down the wrong way, Love?" he asked.

"Erm, yeah, I swallowed something without chewing properly," she replied, going a bit pink in the face. She gave Hermione a dirty look, which Harry and Neville fortunately missed.

"Hermione," Harry started when they had finished breakfast. "I think I found something last night. Can you give me a hand with the research?"

Hermione gave him a quizzical look before agreeing. "Of course, Harry. That's what I do best. What did you find?" She thought she'd convinced him that changing things in the past was impossible on the scale he wanted to do. She sighed internally, it seemed like he had a one track mind.

"Maybe a way to change things, and I mean massive changes. Not just to bring Hannah back, but everyone we lost," Harry replied excitedly.

"Harry," she warned. "I thought we'd decided that that was impossible."

"No, this isn't about time turners. this is something else. Come on, I'll show you. It's something I mulled over in my sleep."

Hermione followed him into the den where he opened up a dusty tome that was obviously very old. Flipping pages carefully, for the pages were very brittle, he continued turning back to the page that had stirred his imagination.

"Here it is," he said, pointing to a short paragraph that was printed in Latin. The cursive writing was a bit faint on the yellowed parchment, but she translated it well enough.

"A crystal? It says that... a majick chrystal called the... I can't quite read this bit, but anyway that it's a sort of portal in time. Do you believe this? Where would we find this crystal? Harry, just how old is this book?"

"I've been collecting odd books for some time. Just as a sort of hobby, mind you. It's your fault, you know. Your love of books rubbed off on me after all this time." he chuckled at the thought of his best friend rubbing off on him. Then blushed at the thought. God he missed Hannah.

"The date is faint but it looks like the fifth century and it looks like Rome is a good possibility."

Hermione was dubious, but agreed to help him. After all, she'd had some experience. "We can't leave for Rome, Harry, the twins, remember?"

"More research then, that's what I asked you to help me with."

Susan and Neville had wandered in and were wondering what was happening. "Harry, just what are you up to," Neville asked.

"Um, research, Neville." He tried to avoid dragging them into this; they would only think he was crazy.

Neville gave him a suspicious eye. "Research into what, Harry?"

Harry sighed, knowing his friend wouldn't let go of this. Neville was like a dog with a bone. He'd gnaw on it and worry it to death until he was given a satisfactory answer. "A variant of time travel, Neville. I think I've found a way to save all of our friends."

Neville scoffed at that. "You know the rules, Harry. Death is final. Even Voldemort finally died. You can't bring her back and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you can move on. You have two wonderful children that depend on you now. Stop this foolishness before it drives you insane."

"You just don't understand, Neville. Hannah was my whole life. Without her, I'm nothing! If there's a way, I won't give up. This, at least has some hope. I know time turners won't work, but this is different. I'm always surprised at what magic can do. Remember first year when Snape's first words were, and I quote: "I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death." end quote. Put a stopper in death, Neville. Snape might have been a greasy bastard, but he was brilliant."

"But wasn't he just exaggerating? I mean, at least he might have been referring to the Draft of Living Death," Susan pointed out.

Harry sighed. "Yes, point taken, but this book leads me to believe that there might be another way. I just need more information."

Hermione was carefully flipping pages of the ancient book, wonder slowly creeping over her face. "I think Harry might be on to something here. It mentions just what we were talking about, but it also says there are ways around it." Then she frowned as she read further. "Um, Harry, it sounds really dangerous. Wizards died messing around with this." Then reading a bit more, she brightened again. "Of course! It's a bit complicated, and those that died did really stupid things, but it has potential. Oh Harry, what if we could save all those people?"

Harry grinned at his best friend. "More research, I reckon. That's the bookworm I've come to trust."

Hermione smiled softly at the trust Harry had shown. "Absolutely, we'd better get started. Susan, if I get too wrapped up in reading, will you remind me to feed Lillian?"

Susan sighed, knowing that the bushy haired witch was on a mission. "Of course, Hermione. Harry, you need to eat as well."

As the days flowed into weeks, they were no closer to finding the solution. A Month passed, then two. Harry was driven and Hermione refused to admit that the answer wasn't in some book they hadn't read yet. The twins were thriving and Susan made sure that Harry spent time with them. November came and the school was ready, but it was decided to start the new year the following September as usual. Harry was grateful for that as he didn't want to lose Hermione and Susan to their final year at Hogwarts. Everyone had agreed to attend for their seventh year.

Early December provided the breakthrough that they'd hoped for. The twins were now on formula and growing like weeds. Susan and Neville had more time to themselves and took to babysitting the twins and helping with the upkeep of the manor. Grocery shopping was taken care of when Neville volunteered to make the necessary runs to the greengrocer as needed. Madam Pomfrey checked them at least once a month, usually interrupting Harry and Hermione with their noses deep in books.

December seventh, Hermione found what they were looking for in a book they had casually glanced at and thought it wasn't helpful the first time. "Harry," she gasped, "I think I've found it!"

"Really? Haven't we both looked at that book before?"

"Yes, Harry. But there were a couple of pages that were stuck together at the back that we both missed. It says the spell we need to activate the crystal. Now all we have to do is find the crystal. Her face fell when she said that. "And we have no idea where to look," she sighed.

* * *

><p>Daphne Greengrass was in a quandary. She was visiting Augusta Longbottom, hoping to have a word with Susan. She had attended the wedding of course and spotted Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. The old dowager had mentioned that Neville and Susan were currently somewhere in Wales. They had sent owls each month to stay in touch, but she didn't know exactly where they were.<p>

'_Well, Susan was a close friend of Hannah Abbott, maybe Hannah knows where she is,'_ she thought.

"Do you know where Hannah Abbot lives, Madam Longbottom?"

"Hmm, dear me, I think Amelia Bones might know. I know Neville was sweet on her for awhile until he got to know Susan. I'm afraid I don't know, but you do know that she married Harry Potter, don't you?"

Daphne blinked at that. "No, I didn't know. I thought he would marry Hermione Granger."

"Heavens no, that girl might have had ideas, but Hannah snared him last year. She was the one that saved him after the battle, if you remember."

Daphne thought about that and remembered. Yes, Hermione had left quite soon after the battle and Hannah was a constant companion at Harry's bedside. '_I bet Hermione was very disappointed in how that turned out. So it's off to see Madam Bones.'_

Amelia Bones was fortunate to have survived the war. Rufus Scrimgeour had died, along with Kingsley Shacklebolt, leaving her to try and rebuild the ministry as the new Minister for Magic.

Daphne had to wait almost a week before she was granted a few minutes time of the very busy Minister. "Good morning Minister, I hate to bother you when you're so obviously very busy. I need to get in touch with your niece Susan or Hannah Abbott. Do you know where she is?"

"Hello Miss Greengrass, it's a pleasure to see you again. I last saw you at Susan's wedding. Susan is with Neville, staying at Harry Potter's manor when last I checked. Harry's warded the manor so the only way to get in touch will be by owl, I'm afraid. He has a floo, but it's currently closed. He avoids people as much as he can since the final battle."

"Well, an owl it'll have to be, I guess. Thank you Madam Bones."

"Just so you know, Miss Greengrass, Hannah, Harry's wife, died tragically a few months ago in an accident. I wouldn't bring it up if I were you. Susan tells me that he's still grieving. He has two young children that Susan, Neville and Hermione are helping to care for."

Daphne gasped at this. "Oh that poor boy. He never seems to catch a break, does he? Hannah. That's a loss that he'll not recover from easily. At least he has children."

Daphne bid Madam Bones goodbye and apparated home. Composing a note for her owl Apollo, she attached it and sent him on his way. Fortunately Wales wasn't too far from Bristol, where her family manor was.

The owl winged its way northwest and a day later was winging its way back with an answer from Harry Potter, inviting her up


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling I'm just playing in her sand box and make no money from this.

Rating is mature for language, violence and subject matter.

**Note:** Warning, lemon in this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: First Steps<strong>

Harry was contemplating the owl that Daphne Greengrass had sent. The Slytherin had wanted to talk to Susan about something and Harry appreciated all the help she had given him. He was not about to deny her a visit from a friend. Susan had told him that Daphne was to be trusted. She had made friends with her the last two years of school and found her 'Ice Queen' persona an effective front to protect herself from the assholes in her own house. Particularly Malfoy and Nott.

Both boys had tried to rape her in third year and she had hexed them so badly that they were deathly afraid of her. Her family, aware of how beautiful she was, and determined to protect her and her sister Astoria, taught her some border dark spells and hexes that would ensure their safety. Spells that were family closely guarded secrets.

Susan had shared this bit of knowledge with Harry when he'd asked if Daphne could be trusted to keep secrets. She had assured him that Daphne was eminently trustworthy.

Harry had always noticed the pretty Slytherin and knew she didn't hang out with the other Slytherin idiots. He decided to take a chance.

So, a day later, he had opened the floo and Daphne arrived to a warm hug from her friend. "Daphne, it's good to see you again. How's Astoria and your family?" Susan welcomed.

"Good, good. We survived, thanks to goblin wards and luck. "Hello Harry, thank you for saving us from that dark bastard. Hermione, Neville, it's always good to see you."

"Susan, I need to talk to you, in private, if you don't mind."

"I have no secrets from my husband, you should know that. Is it so important that you can't share it with the rest of us?"

Daphne blushed a bit and answered, "Um, I need some advice, erm girl advice."

Susan immediately understood. "Okay, guys, will you excuse us for a bit?"

Guiding Daphne to an unused bedroom, Daphne confided what had been bothering her for some time. "There's this guy... um, actually he's in Hufflepuff which is why I thought you could fill me in. Justin Finch-Fletchley, and I don't know anything about him. My parents, actually my grandparents, wrote a marriage contract between us. My parents suspected it was during the war with Grindelwald and had been unfulfilled until my generation. I don't want to marry anyone I don't know. Justin survived the battle but I don't know if he knows about the contact."

"Justin is a good guy, if a bit stuffy. You could do better than that if you had a choice. Would you like a choice?"

"Of course, who wouldn't want to make their own choice, but a contract is a contract."

"Maybe there's a way. This is secret, so I'll have to discuss it with Harry. You'll have to trust me on this, there's more happening than you can imagine. Be careful what you say to Harry, he's just lost his wife. Hannah tripped or fainted on the top stairs and fell to her death. It's a sensitive topic here."

"I'd heard from your Aunt Amelia, so yes, I'll be careful what I say. Harry can't seem to get any breaks in his life, can he?"

"Yeah, now he has twins that he's unprepared to deal with, so that's why Hermione and I are here. We had to breast-feed them until they were ready to take formula. I'm glad that's over; the greedy tykes seemed to be always hungry. You'll get to see them if you stay here. Their names are James and Lillian and they are as cute as buttons. James has Harry's messy black hair and Hannah's eyes, and Lillian has Hannah's hair and Harry's green eyes. It almost broke Harry's heart when he saw her. She looks remarkably like his mother, although without the red hair."

They rejoined the others and Susan took Harry aside. "Harry, I think Daphne should join us if that's alright with you. Changing time could really benefit her. She's in a marriage contract that has to be fulfilled with someone she doesn't really know. She doesn't want to marry the boy and would like to have a choice. With what you and Hermione are working on, she might have a chance. She's really good in potions, Harry. She could help, be a real asset to your work. I know Hermione's good, but Daphne had Snape tutor her privately. She could pass her NEWT potions without taking seventh year."

Harry considered and asked a few questions. "Well, if you trust her, I'll consider it. She'll have to take a magical oath though. I can't take a chance of this leaking out. She'll also have to stay here."

"Fair enough. I'll ask her if she's willing to make the oath and take a chance on this."

"Remember, Susan, this is dangerous if we don't do it right. Tell her that."

Susan agreed and sequestered Daphne, explaining that she needed to make a magical oath of secrecy before she could be told anything. Daphne thought about it and finally agreed.

After the oath, Harry told her what they were going to try to do. Daphne promptly fainted. After Hermione revived the black haired girl, she sputtered, "Impossible! You're mad. It can't be done. People have died when they mess with time."

Hermione smirked. "Third year? How do you think I took all those classes? And helped rescue Hagrid's Hippogriff, and save Harry's godfather."

"You mean Sirius Black, don't you? I heard through the grapevine that he was innocent. You used a time turner? That shouldn't have been allowed. Those are, err were, strictly controlled devices, not handed out just because you wanted to take extra classes."

"Well, Dumbledore had his reasons and I used it to good effect. We saved more than Sirius Black that day. Myself and Harry would have been kissed by Dementors along with Sirius Black without the time turner."

"Well, I'm suitably impressed, but those were all destroyed. And in any case, changing the past to save dead people is impossible. Dead is dead forever."

"Not necessarily," Harry informed her. We found a few loopholes that we plan to exploit. But we need to find a very important artifact first."

"And we only have a rough idea where it might be," Hermione finished.

"Great, just great, this is a lot of supposition to work on, isn't it? I'd like to see what you've discovered so far."

"I can show you that," Hermione offered, leading Daphne to Harry's den.

* * *

><p>The days passed quickly with Susan and Neville continuing their care of the twins, occasionally relieved by Hermione and Daphne. Daphne took to the twins right away and got them giggling easily.<p>

As it turned out, Daphne had integrated easily into the group and spent most of her time helping Hermione with research. She concentrated on finding where the crystal might be hidden, while Harry and Hermione delved deeper into the magic involved, planning what to change and how far back to go. Hermione reminded him of the hidden traps in the magic and what to avoid once they time traveled.

One thing that hadn't been discussed and was now brought up by Daphne: Who would time travel and who wouldn't. That discussion raged for days, Harry pointing out that only he should travel and meeting strong resistance from Hermione and Daphne. Susan and Neville were mostly spectators, since their own lives were pretty much set since third year. Any thing farther back, and they insisted on coming too.

"This is all speculation," Harry insisted. "We don't even know if it'll work. I'll have to be the one to at least test it!"

"Harry, you just can't jump in and try to change one thing. Even if it's a minor thing, you need us to make sure you don't get seen by anyone, especially yourself," Hermione argued. "Remember the rules. You can't be seen!"

"I know the rules, Hermione," he replied heatedly. I remember third year! I'm not stupid!"

Hermione considered that for a moment before answering. "No, Harry, you're not stupid, but you tend to take chances and do things without thinking of ALL the consequences. Without me, you would have met yourself in third year! And your earlier self would have probably killed you thinking it was someone polyjuiced to look like you or worse, a Death Eater in disguise."

Harry hung his head in defeat. He knew she was right; she was always right. Sirius was killed because he refused to believe her that it was probably a trap. "Alright, but only you."

Daphne wasn't about to give up. "I need to go too, Harry. It isn't just about you. You need a back up. What happens if Hermione is hurt or killed? You'd panic, just like you did in fifth year. Yes, Neville told me what happened in the Veil Room. You lost it when Hermione was hit by Dolohov's curse. People die, Harry. You need to be protected against yourself," she smirked at the last point.

"Well, it's all a moot point until we find the crystal," Harry changed the subject. He knew it would be an on-going discussion, and they needed to move on.

Daphne had thoroughly searched ancient scripts and books, not finding much more than a hint that the crystal even existed, much less where to find it. "We need more books," she grumbled.

Hermione heard her and remembered Grimmauld Place. "Harry, did you get all the books from the Black library?"

"Um, yeah, I think so. I should go check. I don't remember if I pulled everything here or just what was on the shelves. Remember, Mrs. Weasley confiscated some of the really dark books."

"Yeah, I remember her scouring the shelves for anything she considered dark," Hermione replied. "I wonder what she did with those? She wouldn't have taken them back to the Burrow."

Harry thought a minute and replied. "I think I'll have a look. Daphne, maybe you could come with me; you probably have a better idea what you need."

Daphne nodded her head and followed him to the Floo. After Harry gave the password, they disappeared into the green flames, to appear in a dusty old manor that hadn't seen use in some time.

"Welcome to Grimmauld Place," Harry grinned. "It's been awhile since I've been here."

Daphne grimaced as she took in the dark place. "Not very inviting, is it? It reminds me of Malfoy Manor and that was seriously creepy."

"What were you doing in the Malfoys' home?" he asked interestedly.

"Ugh, My father was invited there a couple of years ago. He was afraid to refuse. We left as soon as it was polite to leave and never went back. That little shit Draco tried to put a move on me, thinking he could get away with it in his own home." She smirked at the memory. "He forgot that I knew more hexes than he did and most of mine don't leave a mark. He didn't try that again and generally avoided me when he could."

Harry smiled and led her to the Black library. Looking around, he could see that he had indeed taken everything from the bookshelves. "Well, now we start searching."

"Any ideas where?" she queried.

"Dunno, room by room, I guess. The attic would be a good place to start."

"What about the basement?" she suggested.

"Maybe, which do you want?"

"Basement," she smirked. "Attics tend to be really dusty."

"Fine, this way then, but if you run across any books, let me know and I'll join you. Anything left is probably very dark and possibly cursed."

Daphne shivered at the prospect. "Right then, you can handle those."

Harry made his way to the attic after leading Daphne to the basement. There were many hiding places in both locations that had to be searched. If they found nothing there, well, there were many rooms that had not been used during his stay at the manor in the past.

He started where Buckbeak had stayed and sniffed in disgust. It had not been cleaned since the Hippogryff left to rejoin Hagrid at the school. Using his wand, he cast a scourgify on the floor and walls. "That's better, now I can start looking. But there seemed to be nothing in the room of note. The attic was quite large and had been divided into many rooms and cubbyholes. Moving to the next room, he performed the cleaning charm again with similar results. Going from room to room, he was becoming frustrated until he heard Daphne yelp.

Rushing to the basement, he paused with his wand out and then relaxed and laughed. Daphne was buried under a mountain of books that had apparently fallen on her. Her glare at him only increased his laughter. "Need a hand?" he asked saucily. The glare intensified, but finally broke and a small smile broke over her face,

"Damn books! Yes, please." And she held out her hand.

Harry carefully levitated the books into a neat pile and helped her up. "Well, I guess we found where Molly Weasley put the rest of the books."

"Where were they?" he asked.

"Behind this hidden wall with a disillusionment spell, but it was badly done and poorly stored. When I pulled the first book off the top, the rest came down on top of me."

"It looks like a fair few books; must be over a hundred there. Might as well get started."

They sat down at a table Harry conjured and started in, lightly scanning the titles at first, looking for clues as to the contents. Most were more recent books that dealt with dark magic, but a few looked promising. One book was an old favorite 'The Monster Book of Monsters'. "Remember this one?" he chucked to Daphne.

She glanced at it and giggled. "I remember Draco trying to open it and nearly losing his hand. What was Hagrid thinking?"

"I think only Hermione figured it out before class," he grinned

"No, I figured it out right away. Father warned me about it, so I sat with it until I worked out that you had to stroke its spine."

"Well, I kept an old belt wrapped around it until class. I guess you and Hermione really are the smartest witches in Hogwarts."

"Never mind, here's one that has some promise: 'Dark Artifacts From the Second Century'. I also found a later edition of the same book," she pointed out.

Together they found five books out of the one hundred or so books and set them aside. It was getting towards noon and hunger had started to become an issue.

"Time for a break," Harry mentioned, as his stomach gave a loud growl.

Daphne gave a quick smile and agreed as they worked their way out of the basement. "Muggle or magical?" she asked.

"Well, there are quite a few muggle restaurants close by. What would you like?"

"I'm not sure, maybe something better than fast food. What do you suggest?" she answered.

"Italian, Chinese, Greek or French? Pub food is also a possibility, but I'd rather not go too far away. We still have a lot more rooms to check out."

"Italian sounds good. I haven't had good Italian food for years," she answered. "But no take away."

They left and apparated to a nearby Soho restaurant and sat down to an excellent lunch of Linguini and seafood with salad and wine.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Daphne and Harry had decided to call it a day after searching most if the old manor. "I'm exhausted Harry, we can return tomorrow and finish up."<p>

"No, we can stay here the night and get an early start tomorrow. Some of the rooms are good enough to sleep in."

"It's creepy here," she complained. "I don't think I'd sleep at all."

"Fine, you can go and return tomorrow, I'm staying," he said with finality.

"Come on, Harry, it's only a Floo away."

"I know, but I think best when I'm on site. You can go."

She sighed, resigned to staying the night. "I guess I'll stay too, but if you don't mind, I'd like to at least stay in the same room with you."

"W-what? Why?"

"This place seriously gives me the creeps, Harry. I thought I'd go mad when that load of books buried me," she replied, shivering.

Harry thought about it for a moment before agreeing. "Alright, the master bedroom is big enough. I haven't been in there for ages, but a few quick cleaning spells should make it habitable."

They trouped up to the third floor master suite and set to cleaning it. It had a musty disused smell to it and a layer of dust had settled over everything. Harry took care of the dust and Daphne did a fresh air spell. The room had a large king-size four-poster bed that still had the sheets and bed covers in place.

"Only one bed, though," Harry remarked. "This won't work."

Daphne sighed. "It's big enough for two, we're both exhausted so you take one side and I'll take the other. We'll have to change the sheets though, I'm not sleeping in a bed that doesn't have clean sheets."

Harry looked at her as if she had two heads. "You'd sleep in the same bed with me? I-I…" He blushed a deep red and couldn't finish the sentence.

"Harry! We'll be SLEEPING! We're both tired, what's the problem?"

"I-I n-never slept with anyone except Hannah. I-I don't know if I'm comfortable doing this," he replied weakly.

"Sleep, Harry. It's a big bed, plenty of room. I'm not sleeping with you; well yes I am but not like that. Get over it Harry, it's no big deal! Now come on, help me change the sheets."

Harry sighed; not liking this one bit, but acquiesced. Fortunately there were still fresh sheets in a linen cupboard and then the next problem arose. "Um, we didn't bring sleeping, um, things," Harry blushed. I like to sleep, err…"

"So transfigure what you wear," she huffed.

"Err, well, I sleep naked, always have," he blushed.

"Oh," she replied, a bit of pink showing on her cheeks. "Well that's a bit awkward. As long as you keep to your side, I think I can deal with it."

"C-could you wait outside while I, um, get into bed?" he asked uncertainly.

"I'll use the loo and then get into bed. I won't look, I promise. I'll take the far side," she replied. "Honestly Harry, for a Gryffindor, where's all your vaunted courage?"

A few minutes later she emerged from the en-suite after a quick shower and managed to make it to the bed, while Harry turned his back. Yawning widely, she slipped beneath the sheets, dressed in a thin camisole and knickers.

Harry quickly made use of the shower and padded back to the bed. Extinguishing the lights with a quick 'Nox', he nervously slipped into bed.

Daphne was asleep in minutes, but Harry squirmed and rolled for an hour before succumbing to sleep.

The bed was big, but during the night, they both somehow managed to spoon each other. Harry, who had been used to sleeping with Hannah, had scooted closer to Daphne in his sleep. Daphne, seeking Harry's heat, had rolled over in her sleep until she'd met Harry in the middle of the large bed. As the hours wore on, both had naughty dreams with Harry moaning Hannah's name and Daphne snuggling closer to Harry's warmth.

Daphne's dream seemed real to her as Harry ravished her, his hands stoking her breasts and his leg wound around hers.

Harry, in his dream was cupping Hannah's breasts and pulling her close, his leg entwined with hers. He was hard and wanted her desperately. "Hannah," he moaned again. "Mmm, you smell so sweet.," he mumbled.

"Harry," she breathed softly. "Make love to me."

Then it became a little too real as he entered her. She responded and their bodies worked together in the age-old mating act.

Suddenly realizing what was happening they startled. Both awoke, blushing furiously.

"Eeep! Harry! What are we doing?"

"Argh! Daphne, I-I'm sorry!" He leaped out of bed and dashed for the loo.

Daphne's hand went to her knickers, only to find them missing and a very hot centre that was dripping a sticky warm liquid. "NO! Not now of all times!" Her heart sank as she realized the possible consequences. "POTTER!" she yelled. "GET YOUR ARSE OUT HERE, NOW!"

Harry, red faced and by now fully dressed, crept back into the room. His face was beet red and his eyes were downcast. "I-I… I don't know how that h-happened, Daphne. I'm sorry, it was such a good dream."

She glared at him until she realized it was as much her fault as his. "You better hope I'm not pregnant, Harry. And what the hell happened to my knickers anyway?"

Harry gasped, but refused to turn around. "I don't know," he whispered. "I think I may have vanished them in my sleep."

She gaped at him, astounded that he could do that. "Well, you can just un-vanish them then. They were my favourite pair."

Harry gulped and concentrated. "I'm sorry, I don't even know what they looked like. I'd have to know, I mean without knowing, I can't conjure up a new pair."

Daphne smirked at that. It was payback time. "Well, they were lacy black and small, more like a thong than proper knickers. Use your imagination, I'm sure you can come up with something," she teased.

Unfortunately, Harry could imagine and the blush got deeper. "You're evil, you know that. Now I'll have an even harder time concentrating on getting it right. I don't even know what size to make them."

"Turn around, Harry. You can see what size I am." She had slipped out of her camisole and posed for him. _'In for a knut, in for a Galleon'_, she thought.

Harry slowly turned around and his jaw hit the floor. Robes certainly hid a lot. In front of him was a woman that men had dreamed about forever. Slender legs, flaring hips with an hourglass figure; a small tuft of jet black neatly trimmed hair at the juncture of her legs. Her breasts were perfect and full: a large C cup he imagined or a small D. Her black hair cascaded down her back, almost reaching her bum. A smile twitched on her lips and he suddenly couldn't breathe. His legs wobbled and he felt in danger of falling. There was a strange ringing in his ears and then he fainted.

"Gryffindor courage!" she snorted. "Not what it's cracked up to be."

A quick enervate after she'd conjured the knickers for herself and dressed and heard Harry groan. "Come on Harry, I'm hungry. I'm sorry for teasing you, but I couldn't resist. We both shouldn't have done that, you know. I don't know about you, but I haven't had sex in a very long time. I think I'd like to explore that possibility again."

"Daphne, I'm sorry. I'd been dreaming of Hannah and wanted her so badly. You're very beautiful, but I don't think I'm quite ready for that. Besides, I'm trying to find a way to bring Hannah back. I hope you understand."

Daphne frowned. "I understand Harry, maybe more than you think. I too lost someone I loved, but I'm over him. I'm willing to share, if we can get Hannah back. I think Hermione might even be willing. I see how she looks at you when you're not looking. I got to know Hannah in school and afterwards and she was quite open about boys. In school, she experimented with several boys. Ask Susan; she did too. Surely you had practice with others too: Cho perhaps or Luna? I know for certain that Hermione had designs on you."

Harry gulped and in an unnaturally high voice, squeaked, "Really? I've only ever had Hannah."

"Really, Harry? Hermione had Ancient Runes and Arithmancy with me and she thought you'd had an affair with Cho and Luna, maybe even together."

"That's rubbish. I sort of kissed Cho, err, well she kissed me, but it was very wet and not at all what I expected. Luna is just a good friend. Hermione has always been my best friend. I thought of dating her, but Ron got in the way. I dated Ginny briefly, but ended it when we went after Voldemort's, um, protections." Harry found it increasingly easy to talk to the beautiful Slytherin. It had been a long time since he had opened up like that. Even Hannah had to drag some of it out of him. He never did tell anyone except Hermione and Ron about the Horcruxes and he didn't intend to start now.

After a hearty breakfast, they finished their search for books and flooed back home.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling I'm just playing in her sand box and make no money from this.

Rating is mature for language, violence and subject matter.

A/N: Surprise, a long overdue update.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: <strong>

The Potter Manor house was in an uproar as Harry and Daphne arrived. Hermione was in high dudgeon. "Where have you been?" she screeched. "I thought you and Daphne would have been back yesterday! Surely it couldn't have taken all day and this morning to search the library! What have you two been up to?" Suspicion crept into her voice as an unwanted thought formed. Tears crept into her eyes as the thought took hold. "I was worried…"

Daphne smiled, delighting in the passion shown by the bushy-haired witch. Here was a worthy partner that would keep him focused. Whether they could get Hannah back or not, she was going to use all her Slytherin wiles to make sure she and Hermione were part of this handsome wizard's harem. She could share, and she'd talk Hermione and possibly Hannah into it as well.

"Hermione, cool down," Harry admonished. "We had a bit more trouble locating the books than I imagined. It took all day and we ate in London. Grimmauld Place was not exactly the best place to stay or search. It took all day to check all the various places and hidey-holes that the Black family had built into the place. We managed to find less than a dozen books that showed promise."

"So you didn't… erm, that is…"

Harry looked at her suspiciously. Hermione could always tell when he was hiding something. "I didn't what?" Actually, he didn't want to go there, but she had forced the issue.

Hermione huffed and decided to drop the subject. "Never mind, let's see the books."

* * *

><p>Miles away, Luna sat up suddenly from her studies. "Morgana's floppy tits, what does he think he's doing? Meddling with time is always disastrous!" Then she sank into another dream state. Harry was moving through time with two girls. The possibilities branched many ways and she couldn't follow any of them until he had chosen. She hated when that happened. Her seer ability had limitations and until a decision was made, she couldn't interfere. Awakening, she sighed, knowing that momentous changes were in the works.<p>

* * *

><p>Susan and Neville had just fed the babies when they heard Hermione's tirade. "Harry must be back," Neville smiled.<p>

"Honestly, that girl needs to snog him good and maybe shag him thoroughly as well." Susan responded.

"You really think so?" Neville smirked. "I don't think Harry would recover from that. She'd devour him with the state she's in now."

"You noticed too? She's been mooning over him for weeks now. I don't think she really believes that Hannah can be saved and is waiting until Harry admits it as well. She'll jump him soon if Daphne doesn't get to him first. Maybe I should tell her…"

"Don't meddle, Love. She can figure it out for herself. She's not the brightest witch of the age for nothing, you know."

"Yes, but she doesn't have an ounce of courage anymore. The final battle took something out of her. She lost too many people. Harry's stronger than her; he's dealt with way more and recovered. But he really is clueless when it comes to women. Even with Hannah, she was the guiding force in their relationship."

"Just like you, Sue. I never could have figured it out without your help." He smiled and kissed his wife. "When are we going to start our own family? I like taking care of Lillian and James, but I'd like to get on with our life too."

Susan sighed in his arms, cuddling closer. "The twins will need a mother and until Harry chooses, I can't abandon them. There's still lots of time; we have to finish school, you know."

* * *

><p>A month passed as they delved into the books again. Hermione was frantically researching and planning; Daphne was scouring the new books for any hint of the location of the crystal. Harry, not taking any chances of a similar accident, warded the stairs against falls, checking for other hazards as well. In the evenings, they all pooled their knowledge on what they needed to change if their plan was to succeed.<p>

The discussions went on for days, refining, adding, and defining responsibilities until finally they were left with the only problem not resolved: the location of the crystal. The books from the Black library had given tantalizing clues, but they needed to research several locations in situ. Italy seemed to be the general location, but there was too much ground to cover.

Hermione, as usual, came up with the most promising idea. "The Vatican Library," she stated flatly. "That's where we'll likely find the answer."

"Hermione," Susan warned. "You can't just go waltzing into the Vatican Library. It's restricted to Vatican scholars."

"Harry's cloak," she smirked, but her face fell when Harry shook his head.

"It's gone, Hermione. It was destroyed along with my trunk in the final battle."

"Are you sure, Harry? I thought it was indestructible."

"So did I, but I couldn't find it when I searched the remains after I recovered in the Hospital."

"Harry, it wasn't in your trunk. Don't you remember? You wore it to sneak back into the castle before you fought Riddle."

"But then someone must have found it in the wreckage afterwards. It's gone in any case."

"Not necessarily, Harry. You're powerful enough to summon it if it's still in the castle."

"You can't summon any of the Deathly Hallows, Hermione. You should know that," he replied.

"The Deathly Hallows?" Daphne asked in surprise. "It's not just a myth?"

Harry smiled and showed her his wand. "This is one, the so-called Elder Wand. I also had the Resurrection Stone and my dad's cloak was the Cloak of Invisibility."

"Y-you were the master of death?" She shivered at the thought.

"Yes, and no. It's complicated; I'll explain it sometime. I guess we'll be paying a visit to Hogwarts. Susan, Neville, do you mind looking after things for a day or two? I really don't want to take the twins…. Hmm, why not, they could use a check-up from Madam Pomfrey. Maybe we all should go."

After readying the twins and their food, Harry held both of them on each shoulder and entered the floo to Hogwarts. He had checked with Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall and were expected. The rest of the entourage quickly followed.

Harry hated magical travel, but managed to land properly this time, perhaps due to the twins balancing him. The rest of the group landed and they made their way into the hospital.

"Hello Harry," Poppy greeted. "You've brought the twins; good. It's time for their checkups and while you're all here, I can check you as well."

"Thanks Poppy. It's good to see you again. Is the Headmistress around?"

"She knows you're here and will be in soon."

"I have to talk to her about an item I'm missing. Um, was anything found after the cleanup that…?"

"Oh, you mean your 'special' cloak?" she smirked. "Yes, I know about that cloak. Your father used it many times and although I could never catch him, Lily showed it to me once. Minerva has it and will return it to you. It was found in the Great Hall the week after you left. I'd forgotten about it until just now."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin. I had feared it lost."

* * *

><p>Minerva McGonagall was slowly working her way to the hospital wing, checking on all the repairs and new construction. Returning students would hardly recognise the school now. Gone were the shifting staircases, the dungeons were bright and airy with the addition of window charms to reflect the outside, much like the Great Hall. The ceiling of the Great Hall was repaired and its magic restored. A few of the classrooms had been combined into bright study rooms with bookcases and comfortable armchairs. She had dismissed old Professor Binns and hired a talented witch that had specialised in magical history. Severus' departure and death enabled her to hire a very talented DADA teacher from the ministry. Hestia Jones had survived the final battle and wanted to help students defend themselves. Minerva welcomed her wholeheartedly. Horace Slughorn was returning as Potions Master now that he felt safe. Madam Pince, the Librarian and Rolanda Hooch were also returning as well as Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout. She still had to find someone to replace her Muggle Studies professor and Septima Vector, the Arithmancy professor. Both had died when a ceiling had collapsed as they were herding students to safety. The Ancient Runes Professor, Bathsheba Babbling was still recovering but promised to return. Professor Sybil Trelawney had fled and was eventually killed by Death Eaters. Minerva decided not to replace her and dropped the subject from the curriculum. Events however, would eventually change her mind.<p>

She also decided to add a few new subjects but was having trouble convincing the Board of Governors for the school that they were necessary in view of the considerable costs of reconstruction. Maybe Mr. Potter could be convinced to help convince them. Harry's importance could not be overstated. Everyone wanted to acknowledge the young man that had saved them all. _'He should have arrived by now,'_ she thought. _'I'll have to talk to him.'_

* * *

><p>Madam Pomfrey had checked the twins and pronounced them in perfect health. A look at Harry had her worried though. "Harry, you haven't been sleeping!" she accused. "Your magical core is fine, but your body is showing signs of exhaustion." Then she looked at Hermione and quickly decided they all showed signs of exhaustion. "What's going on, Harry? Only Susan and Neville show few signs of exhaustion. Hermione and Daphne look almost as tired as you."<p>

"It's nothing Poppy," he replied. "We've been studying."

Poppy gave them a gimlet eye, not believing for a second that was the true reason. She huffed and told them to get some quality rest or they would be susceptible to illness. "There's a nasty strain of dragon pox going around that I don't want you exposed to. Your immune systems might not be able to cope and goodness knows you can't afford to pass it on to the twins. Miss Greengrass, you should know better."

Poppy examined all three girls and Neville and was just checking Daphne when Minerva entered the hospital wing.

"Mr. Potter," she smiled. "A pleasure to see you again. Miss Granger, Miss Greengrass, Miss Bones and Mr. Longbottom. Ah, I see you brought the twins as well. How are they Poppy?"

"The twins are fine as are Mr. Longbottom and Miss Bones," she replied. Mr. Potter has a need to get more rest as well as Miss Granger. I'm still examining Miss Greengrass." She carefully waved he wand over Daphne's body and frowned. A second inspection and the frown deepened. "Miss Greengrass, will you step over here for a moment. I need to talk to you in my office."

Daphne blinked in surprise. "Of course Madam Pomfrey. Please excuse me, guys?"

Wondering if anything was wrong, Daphne followed Madam Pomfrey to her office.

Harry's eyes followed her but soon were brought back to the Headmistress. "Headmistress, I understand that my cloak has been found and that you have it?"

"It's in my office, Mr. Potter, you can retrieve it when you leave. I have a few professors that need replacing before the school opens. Normally, I would be able to fill those positions, but with the war and so many deaths, I'm finding it difficult. I was wondering if you might have a suggestion for a new Muggle Studies professor? I also need an Arithmancy professor, but I know you won't know anyone for that. Perhaps Miss Granger or Miss Greengrass might know someone. I've tried all the usual sources and advertised, but so far, nothing."

"I don't know, Professor," he replied, I've been out of touch for awhile, but I'll certainly ask around."

Daphne came back with her face pale.

"Is everything alright, Daphne?" Harry asked.

"F-fine. Everything's fine," she answered shakily.

Everyone gave her a frown, not believing a word. "Daphne?" Harry prodded.

"Later, Harry, not here."

Bidding Madam Pomfrey goodbye and thanking her, they gathered up the twins and made their way to McGonagall's office. After Harry had retrieved his cloak, he reluctantly bid the Headmistress goodbye. Harry was worried about Daphne, as she seemed unusually quiet.

* * *

><p>The boarded the Hogwarts Express once again and returned home. Daphne had not said a word and excused herself when they got home, going quickly to her room and locking the door.<p>

"What's with her?" Hermione wondered aloud. "She didn't say two words since before we left Hogwarts."

"I don't know. Best leave her alone until she's ready to tell us," Harry replied.

Susan and Neville took the twins and prepared their dinner. Lillian had fussed a bit on the way home, evidently sensing something was not quite right. James had picked up on it soon after and both were fidgeting as Susan tried to feed them.

Harry was exhausted and bid them goodnight, retiring to his bedroom and falling into bed, only taking the time to undress.

Hermione, determined to find out what was bothering Daphne tried to visit her in her bedroom, only to find the door locked. She knocked and receiving no answer, likewise prepared for bed. It was a long and stressful day.

Harry was having a nightmare again and Hermione, noticing the muffled screams, entered his bedroom and slipping under the covers, cuddled him. He stilled almost immediately and returned the cuddle, spooning up to Hermione's back. Drifting off to sleep, Hermione shifted during the night, now facing Harry. Unconsciously, they pulled closer to each other, wrapping their arms around their bed mates bodies. A whispered word from Hermione, deep in dreamland, and a muffled answer from Harry as he burrowed his face into her neck was a prelude to a very pleasant dream for both of them. Her leg had found its way over his thighs as her slip rode up. A sigh escaped her lips as Harry's member stiffened and touched her entrance.

Still asleep, their bodies answered the call so long denied them. A soft thrust, a softer moan as they rolled closer together. Hermione was now slightly underneath Harry as he slipped inside her. She was wet and pulled him deeper inside, her hips driving them together, needing to mate. In and out, gently at first and when that wasn't enough, Harry buried himself deep inside her.

They both awoke at the same time—eyes wide, emerald meeting cinnamon—frantically copulating. Harry's lips were all over her, kissing nibbling, sucking at her most sensitive spots. She kissed him back with a ferocity he had never known.

He had risen above her, her legs clamped around his waist, driving him deeper into her, as the age old mating ritual played out. A high keening sound left her lips as they were both driven over the edge. As their racing pulses abated a bit, they looked at each other. Harry was still hard and Hermione was ready for a second round. Unthinking, they resumed their lovemaking, driving them to climax again and again. Then reality took hold.

"What are we doing?" they both said at the same time.

Both blushed a deep red as Harry pulled out. The bed was soaked and both were freely sweating as they came down from their high.

"Harry? I-I…"

"Hush, Hermione," he replied softly. "We both needed this." He smiled in the darkness and kissed her tenderly, feeling the smile on her face as well. "We'll figure it out. Even if we can't go back to save everyone, we'll still have each other. I love you, Hermione. I think I always have. I love Hannah too, but she's gone, maybe for good. I think I may love Daphne as well. Could you accept that?"

Hermione relaxed against him and shivered. Her love for this young man clouded her thoughts as she tried to sort out her feelings. "Daphne?" A bit of jealousy pricked at her emotions as she considered sharing. "I-I'm not sure, Harry. I've loved you for a long time, maybe as far back as first year. If I have to share you, it'll be hard, but Daphne is someone I might be able to share you with. I didn't know Hannah, but I love the twins, so if we get her back..."

"Let's sleep. We can think on this tomorrow… err later today," he replied.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Susan felt the group dynamic change. A smiling Hermione and Harry exited Harry's bedroom full of life and vitality.<p>

"Well, you two seem happy. Did you get a good night's sleep?"

A blush greeted her from both teens. "Er, yeah," they answered.

'_So,'_ Susan thought, _'Hermione must have claimed him last night! Good for her, he needs that.'_

Daphne had yet to rise and Harry figured it was time to see what had happened at Hogwarts yesterday. "Daphne not up yet?" he asked.

"No, she seemed off, last night, I'm not sure what happened," Susan answered.

"I'll talk to her. How are the twins this morning," he asked, hoping to divert attention from Hermione and him.

"They've just been fed and have settled in for a nap. You should go see them, Harry."

Harry, happy to be away from Susan's knowing smirk, raced up the stairs to look in on the twins. They were sleeping peacefully, angelic looks on their faces. He bent over and kissed their foreheads and left them to check on Daphne.

Her door was locked and he heard muffled crying inside. "Daphne? May I come in?"

"Go away Harry," was the answering response.

"Come on Daphne, speak to me. Is it something I did?"

"N-no, y-yes, maybe," she answered weakly.

The door opened slowly and a tearful Daphne pulled him into the dimly lit room. She was a mess. Tears had stained her cheeks and her face was red from crying.

"What's happened Daphne?"

"Oh, Harry! I-I'm pregnant! Remember that night at Grimauld Place?"

"Oh shit. I'm so sorry Daphne." Harry folded the crying girl into his arms, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

Daphne hiccoughed and buried her face into his chest. "It's just as much my fault, Harry."

"Shh, it happened, I-I have to tell you… It… happened with Hermione too, last night."

Daphne looked up in shock. "Harry? You… erm, you and Hermione?"

"Daphne, we didn't even realise it until we awoke. It was a dream… well obviously more than a dream. Just like us, it happened while we were asleep. Then it became more."

"Harry? What about me?" she asked fearfully.

"I asked Hermione if she could share," he replied, a slight smile on his face.

"Share? I like Hermione, but you want me to share? Yes I'll share. Do you love me?" she asked softly.

"Honestly, I think I do. I've always loved Hermione and of course Hannah, and I've developed feelings for you too. I know this is awkward, but can we try?"

Crying, she leapt into his arms. "Yes, Harry! We can certainly try. I've had a crush on you since third year, but, well, Slytherins and Gryffindors didn't exactly mix at school."

* * *

><p>Susan had cornered Hermione and was grilling her. "Spill, Hermione! You slept with him again, didn't you. And more than sleep happened, didn't it?"<p>

Hermione blushed scarlet and answered weakly; "Yes. I didn't plan it though. He was having another bad dream and I cuddled him until he calmed and fell asleep. I drifted off and the next thing I knew, we were making love. In our sleep, no less, and then we were full awake and I couldn't stop myself. Harry was so gentle to start with and then it was too much. We were like animals. I've loved him since first year, but was too afraid to lose him if I said anything. Then Hannah… He loves me too and I think Daphne as well. He asked me if I could share and honestly I'd do anything for him. I said yes." She finished in a whisper. "You don't think badly of me do you? I mean, we may never get Hannah back and I don't want to lose him again. I'd share with Hannah too if he wants."

Susan smiled and hugged her friend. "No, Hermione, I don't think badly of you. I wondered why it took so long to claim him though. We've been, well, there was a betting pool. You were odds-on favourite to be the one to be with him. It was certainly a surprise when he married Hannah. Don't get me wrong; Hannah loved him almost as long as you. That 'Heir of Slytherin' thing; she was the only one in Hufflepuff that didn't believe it. Oh, she went along with us, but I knew; it was just out of loyalty to the rest of the house, but she told me that she didn't believe a word of it.

"So what happens now?"

"I don't honestly know, Susan. Does Neville suspect?"

"Neville? Oh he was just behind of me in figuring it out."

"You knew?"

"Of course, silly. We all knew, even Hannah. Oh, you mean about last night? No, not yet, he's still taking a bit of a lie in. And I think dear Harry is working it out with Daphne as we speak."

"Speak of the green-eyed devil," Hermione smiled, as Harry and Daphne made their way down the stairs hand in hand.

Neville had finally made an appearance, sleepily rubbing his eyes. "'Mornin," he yawned. What's up?"

Daphne blushed and stuttered. "I- that is we have something to tell you."

Hermione smiled. _'Yes, he's accepted her and she…'_ She stopped when she remembered something. Something about Madam Pomfrey asking to speak to Daphne alone. _'Surely not…'_

"I'm apparently going to be a father again," Harry proudly announced.

Susan and Neville were in shock. "Daphne?" Susan asked.

Daphne smiled. "Madam Pomfrey told me. It's early yet, but I won't be able to accompany you when we finally time jump. I can still help with the research though. Hermione, I have to talk to you."

Hermione was just recovering from the shock and glared at Daphne. _'How dare she. She beat me to it. Well, maybe after last night…'_

'_Oh oh, I don't like the look of that,'_ Harry thought.

Daphne grabbed hold of Hermione and guided her to a secluded corner and cast silencing spells.

Susan, Neville and Harry watched as the silent conversation took place. Apparently they were arguing, if the sour looks on both witches' faces and arm gestures were any indication. Then smiles broke out and arms enfolded each other. The silencing spell was dispelled and they walked back, arm in arm.

Harry let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Thank Merlin for that," he breathed.

Hermione smirked and kissed him. "Maybe there will be more than one pregnancy, Harry."

Harry was gobsmacked. "H-Hermione?"

"I won't know for awhile, Harry, but it's about the right time of month and we did erm…"

Harry grabbed her and swung her around in joyous abandon.

* * *

><p>Luna groaned as the latest scenes played out in her mind. "Too many permutations! I can't sort out all the possibilities! Argh. The future is too shadowy. It's slipping away from me. I can't predict. Mum, where are you when I really need you?"<p>

Suddenly a shaft of brightness shone through and for a brief moment, she saw. But what she saw, puzzled her more than what she'd seen before.

…..


	12. Chapter 12 The Sands of Time

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling I'm just playing in her sand box and make no money from this.

Rating is mature for language, violence and mature subjects.

Genera: Drama, Romance.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12: The Sands of Time<strong>

"Harry, I… I don't think either of us can go back with you," Hermione stated miserably.

"Why? Both of you demanded to come."

"Daphne's pregnant and I may be," Hermione responded. "Too much could happen with the pregnancies. We can't chance it."

Harry thought about it and another question came up. "What about what happens if I change things in the past. How will that affect both of you?"

Hermione answered without hesitation. "You can only go back to take actions that you were not involved with initially. In other words, you can not go back and change anything you know already happened. The reason is that you can't make it so something doesn't happen if the fact that it didn't happen would mean you wouldn't have gone back to change it. That's called the Time Traveler's Paradox." Hermione vividly recalled Dumbledore's warning when they were about to go try to save Sirius, _'You must not be seen!'_ That had been quite a simplification; it was much more complicated than that. "It's more a law of nature like Newton's Laws of Motion than a law you can get arrested for," she added to Harry.

"And what is the consequence of breaking the law?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "You die. More precisely, you cease to exist in that timestream. You are returned to your original time either unconscious or comatose, depending on the severity of the violation." She swallowed hard. "Possibly dead."

"Well that won't work. You mean Hannah is lost to me forever? There is no chance to save her?"

Hermine had thought this over and hadn't found a way around the pardox. "No, Harry, best forget her. At least you have us."

Daphne, however, had a different take on it. "I've also been thinking, Harry. You won't like it though. There is one other way but it's really dangerous, you could lose everything. You know I worked with Professor Snape while we were in school. Okay, maybe you didn't, but I was his favourite. Draco should have been, but the pompus git was too lazy to be better than just average. Severus was his godfather but Draco was too fixated on destroying Harry to pay close attention in class. Make no mistake, he was good in some things but usually took the easy way out. Anyway, as I was saying, Severus and I worked together many evenings developing new potions. He hinted that there were ways to "put a stopper in death" and we looked at various potion related ways to do that. He did say that most of those ways were very dangerous if brewed incorrectly. He let slip one time that it would be a good way to defeat time, but when I asked him about it, he denied saying it."

Harry had been thinking and wondered if Daphne had stumbled on something. Hermione, however scoffed at such a thing.

"Harry, much as I trust Professor Snape's potion brewing abilities, I don't think he was serious. Daphne, did you get any other hints?"

"No, but I have his notes somewhere, maybe there'll be something we've overlooked." She thought about it for awhile and began to search her trunk, finally coming up with an armful of parchment rolls. "These are his notes, let me study them. There's a lot here, maybe I'll find something. Hermione, can you help?"

Hermione was skeptical but agreed.

* * *

><p>Days later, it was Hermione that stumbled on a possible solution. "Daphne, look at this, I think it may be an answer. It does look fatal though."<p>

Daphne peered over her shoulder and followed Hermione's finger as she pointed out salient points. "But… but it means we'd have to kill ourselves! That can't be good."

"No look," Hermione pointed to a particular sentence. "The body will die but the mind and soul will regress to an earlier time. In effect it will reset the timeline, at least for that person. An alternate timeline, if you will."

"But it doesn't say what will happen to those in this timeline," Daphne replied. "If Harry did it, he could save Hannah, but he'd die in this timeline. We'd be left alone. I don't like that idea."

Hermione agreed it did have a problem. She couldn't face losing Harry, even if it was sucessful. "Let's sleep on it, we haven't finished reading Snape's notes yet. Maybe there is more."

Daphne agreed but made Hermione promise not to tell Harry until they'd researched it thoroughly.

Going over every scrap of Professor Snape's notes, they came to the conclusion that while in theory it was possible, the big question was left unanswered. What would happen to Harry in this timeline? There just wasn't a definitive answer and Hermione kept coming back to the time traveler's paradox. You couldn't change anything you knew already happened. True, Harry in a different timeline might be able to change things sufficiently to save Hannah, but would the Harry in this timeline survive or just go insane, knowing he would never see Hannah alive again and not knowing if Harry in the alternate timeline had managed to save Hannah.

A month of intensive reading brought out another problem. The timeline was thought to be split at the instant a decision was made, creating a new timeline, in fact, an infinite series of alternate worlds/universes/timelines. If that was true, then Hannah existed somewhere and an infinite number of possibilities existed for her and Harry. Some with Hannah and Harry together and many more that they were not. Forcing a new timeline through potion means was a fools errand. Snape was wrong, it would solve nothing.

Exhaustion had settled over the team and finally Hermione and Daphne confronted Harry.

"It's no good, Harry," Hermione said sadly. "There is no way for you to save Hannah. She's already been saved in some alternate timeline and died in as many more. You are stuck here and anything you do to change things will end in tragedy. Either you die or you'll go insane. Those are the only two options. We don't want either to happen, so you'll have to let it go. Life is growing in Daphne and probably in me as well. You already have twins from Hannah, let that be her legacy. We'll be there for you and you'll have a family at last. Let Daphne and me be part of your family, love. We both love you just as much as Hannah did."

"Harry," Daphne whispered, "we both need you now, as well as the twins. We've both bonded with Lillian and James and with more on the way, the children will need you alive and sane. I know plural marriage is not normal, even in the wizarding world, but it is still legal. You are the head of two families, Potter and Black. You need two wives Harry, in order to make sure both lines don't die out. A Potter heir and a Black heir, will ensure that. Boys of course," she smiled. "You already have a son and between myself and Hermione, the odds are good that we'll have another."

Harry slumped down in defeat. He knew the two brightest witches of the age were right. They had been at this problem for months and he knew that the laws of the universe would not permit any other solution. The time turner incident was a localized phenomenon that followed precise rules that couldn't apply in this case. He'd have to accept that he'd lost Hannah. He hated that they were right, but the reasoning was sound. At least he could take some solace in that somwhere Hannah lived, just ot here.

A month later, Hermione was confirmed to be pregnant. Madam Pomfry confirmed that the girls would deliver just before school reopened. Precautions were taken this time; there would be no repeat of the tragedy that befell Hannah.

Harry was slowly coming out of his depression and began paying more attention to the twins. The twins in turn, were cute and full of laughter and finally Harry could smile.

Susan and Neville finally were able to get back to their own lives and left. The manor settled down with Hermione letting her parents know that Harry had proposed and that she was expecting. Daphne was a little more concerned, since the betrothal contract with Justin was still in effect, but with the knowledge that Harry's baby was growing inside her, her parents were easily convinced to break the betrothal contract. Justin was understandably upset, but could not accept a pregnant Daphne in marriage. The point was moot in any case, since Harry wed both girls in a magical ceremony by Minister Bones. The parents, Monica and Wendell Granger as well as Theodore and Adriene Greengrass attended as well as Daphne's younger sister Astoria. Of course Susan, Neville and Luna stood for them as bridesmaids and best man.

Hermione gave him a son they named Daniel and Daphne a daughter they named Laura. Life was good and the family thrived with Daniel being sorted into Gryffindor, Laura into Slytherin, James and Lillian into Hufflepuff.

In another timeline, Harry met Hannah at Tywyn Wales and the events proceeded slightly differently. Hannah produced a single child, a boy they named James. There was enough room in Hannah's cottage that they were able to live there in peace and Harry eventually sold his manor house. Eventually, Harry added an addition to the house when Hannah bore him another child, a daughter they named Lillian. They lived happily ever after, the two children going to Hogwarts and graduating as Hufflepuffs.

In a different timeline, Hannah married Neville with Harry marrying Hermione and Susan, but that's another story.

**A/N 2:** This story is now at an end and it was a tough one to finish as so many loose ends presented temselves. Some of this may not follow accepted theory regarding alternate universes, but that's my take on it.


End file.
